Washington Apple Pi Journal, March 1986

Transcription

$ 250
Wa/hington Apple Pi G
The Journal of Washington Apple Pi, Ltd.
Volume. 8
number 3 marc.h 1986
Hiahliahtl
.~
... .
. ' .'
.
Desktop Publishing
The REM-arkable REM
][ in a Mac
Computerizing Your Taxes
In This
Officers & Staff , Editorial
President's Corner
. Tom Warrick
Event Queue, General Information, Minutes
Apple Teas
Amy T. Billingsley
WAP Calendar, SigNews
WAP Hotline.
Merle Block
Computer Shopper: Magazine Review
WAP Bulletin Board Systems
Classifieds, Commercial Classifieds
OisabledSIG News
Jay Thal
The Best of Apple III: Part 2
David Ottalini
. Bruce F. Field
Q & A
GAMESIG News
Ronald Wartow
Thomas Johnston
The Halley Project : A Review
AutoDuel: A Review
. David Granite
Apple II Desktop Publishing
Ri chard Rowell
Here Comes Desktop Publishing
• Martin Kuhn
. J Condren
DPub SIG
Lap Computers as Apple Accessories ... George Kinal
Electronic Stock Trading
.George Kinal
The REM-arkable REM
Gary Hayman
OMP Utilities: A Review
Mark Blass
3
4
8
8
9
10
11
11
12
13
14
16
18
18
19
20
22
24
25
26
28
32
Issu~ Square-Root Routine for Forth
Chester H. Page
Basic - > Pascal Translation
Robert V. Rusk
WAP Meeting Schedule
Best of Apple Items from UBBS
Euclid Coukouma
] [ ina Ma c
Lawrence Husick
SigMac News
Brooks Leffler
Mac Q & A
Jonathan E. Hardis
MacNovi ce
Ralph J . Begleiter
Softviews
. David Morganstein
HFS Follies Update
Tom Warrick
Legal Time Reporting on Mac.
.Rosemary Connelly
'EXC EL'ing With Your Mac
David Morganstein
Frederick Apple Core
•
Microsoft Excel: A Review
.Lynn R. Trusal
Using Excel to do Taxes
Lynn R. Trusal
Review Corner
James M. Burger
Macintosh Plus Connectors
Jonathan E. Hardis
Best of the Mac Items - UBBS
Regina Litman
Disketeria Dispatch
Jim Little
Book Reviews
Robert C. Platt
Di sketeria Order Form
Tutorial Registration, Ad Index, Author Index
For information on joining WAP, see "General Information", page 8.
33
34
34
35
38
40
41
46
48
50
51
52
54
54
57
60
64
65
69
70
71
72
linton
omput af
E
Great New Macintosh
Products from
Clinton Computer!
,
277 S. Washington St., Alexandria, VA (703)838-9700
."W:., 6443 Old Alex. Ferry Rd., Clinton, MD (301)856-2500
March 1986
Ie Pi Newsletter
Desktop
Publishing
Seminars
New Product
Rollout
The one thing Apple remembered when
building more powerful Macintosh products
was you -- the loyal customer. Therefore,
For Macintosh owners with a need
to produce type-set quality documents.
Clinton Computer is pleased to introduce
to you the latest advancements for the Macthe answer is an Apple Desktop Publish
ing System. Add a LaserWriter Printer
intosh family of personal computers.
and any of a wide variety of software proThe powerful new Macintosh Plus Upgrades can transform your Macintosh 128K
grams to your Macintosh System and
or 512K into a brand new powerful business 1 -_ _ _ _ _ _.,......_ _ _ _ _ _.... you are ready to create -- faster, better,
computer. The new keyboard, complete with cursor keys and
and cheaper.
numeric keypad, allows for faster data and number entry.
If you or your company needs to save time and money on
your presentation graphics, then plan to attend one of our
A new 800K internal disk drive provides twice the speed and
FREE SEMINARS on Desktop Publishing. These seminars
storage; the new ROM gives you faster throughput; and a new
will be scheduled throughout the next four months, with both
logic board with 1MB RAM let" you expand to 4MB without a
board swap. Plus, it has an SCSI interface that allows you to
afternoon and evening sessions.
Please call 838-9700 for information and reservations.
connect up to seven high-performance peripherals.
The LaserWriter Plus Upgrade allows you to expand your sys
tem rather than outgrow it. By up-grading, you'll increase print
ing speed 2 to 3 times, coupled with the new Macintosh Plus.
Thirty-five typeset-quality, built-in font'>, including Avant
Garde, Gothic, Bookman, New Century Schoolbook and more,
If you purchased your Macintosh between Nov. 17, 1985
will give you greater flexibility in document preparation. And,
and January IS, 1986, you can qualify for up to $450 in rebates
fractional pixel-width fonts provide a more accurate screen-to
directly from Apple Computer when you upgrade to a Macin
printer fidelity when coupled with Macintosh Plus.
tosh Plus. Call either of our stores for details.
Rebates Offered!!
Macintosh Upgrade
Pricing for Pi Members
Pi Price·
List
$324 $243
Macintosh Plus Internal Disk Upgrade
(list includes $2S installation)
$849 $637
Macintosh Plus Upgrade from 128K or
third party SI2K; also requires Disk
Upgrade (list includes $SO installation)
Macintosh Plus Upgrade from Apple SI2K; $649 $487
also requires Disk Upgrade (list includes
$SO installation)
$849 $637
LaserWriter Plus Upgrade (list includes
$SO installation)
All of these upgrades are currently on allocation from Apple,
but prepaid orders will be filled on a first-come first-served basis.
Washington Apple Pi
·CLlNTON COMPUTER is pleased to offer Washington Apple
Pi members a 25% DISCOUNT OFF THE LIST PRICE on all
Apple brand peripherals and software and on App1eCare. Dis
count is available to persons who have been Pi members for
at least three months. Discount applies to cash and certified
check purchases of Apple peripherals and software (no CPU's)
and may not be applied retroactively. If the product is not in
stock. we can take your prepaid order. Pi members need to pre
sent their ID cards upfront. Discount cannot be used in com
bination with other promotions. Members should primarily
utilize the Pi network of experts for after-sale support. No
phone or mail orders. please.
This newsletter was produced on a Macintosh and LaserWriler,
using MacDraw. Apple and Ihe Apple logo are regislered
trademarks of Apple Compuler, Inc. Macinlosh is a Irademark
of Mclnlosh Laboralory. Inc. and is being used wilh express
permission of ils owner. LaserWriler is a Irademark of Apple
Compuler, Inc.
March 1986
PRESENTING THE VF ASSOCIATES
APPLE 111M CIIPA
We've scoured the world to put together the perfect computer
both IBM & Apple compatible! Now have the best of both worlds! IBM
II Motherboard
has Copam 810S chip - the most IBM compatible of any on the marketl(8etTer than Leading Edge or Compaql; sockets for 640K. 8 ROMS. co-processor: 8 standard expansion slots (6 openl: S127.00 II Speaker S5.00 II XT-style case has bays for up to 4 half-height drive units S50.00 Ii 150 watt Full Capacity pJwer supply with 4 connectors S93.00 II High quality 5- I 14 inch floppy disk drive: S77.00 II Second disk drive: S77.00 II CtllPS for 640K memory: S97.00 II PC Style full keyboard: S6~ .00 III Multi-Disk-1I0 card with floppy controller. clock. parallel
THE VF PC & serial & game ports: 51 03.00
pr:n:te~r~iilljlllllllll~
ports:
$86.00
• Full
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controller. 6l.0 x200 resolution with
• 12-inch Hi-Res green or amber TTL monitor (will also accept RG8 input signalsl. with stand:
$119.00
~~Wil'1l 1year warranty on all
APPLE
• Motherboard resides on card in slot of IBM compatible motherboard.
• Runs most 64K Apple" software including DOS 3.3. PRO-DOS. Apple
CPIM and Pascal and 80 column programs.
• Uses IBM drives; can also attach to Apple drive.
""""'~.... • Can access printer. modems. monitor and speaker.
~~fiiI • True co-processor. operates simultaneously with IBM part; not an
emulatorl
jIIiI~NPii. II Converts data to or from PC-DOS format.
~W~~...,..... • Card. cables. DOS 3.3. conversion software: S295
OPTIONS
ADD
• MD-DOS operating system for PC above. . . . . .. ......... 570.00
II Hi-Res TTL monochrome controller with
limited graphics instead of above controller. . . .. .......... S9.00
• RG8 640 x 200 color monitor instead .......... . ....... $180.00
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• AT-style keyboard instead.....................
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• 515 I style keyboard instead ......... .. .. . .. ..
• 10 MG hard disk & controller ........................... S395.00
• 8 MHz turbo motherboard instead . . . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. . .... S30.00
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• Apple-type or IBM-type deluxe joystick.
ASSEMBLY & TESTING BY US ... S100
SHIPPING ..................... _S30
MD Residents: Please add 5% sales tax.
(301) 652·4232
'ASSOCIATES
8231 WOODMONT AVENUE, BETHESDA, MARYLAND 20814
2
March 1986 PlUS£ MOTt'
BECAUS( us
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" ' YOU RECEIVE A
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Washington Apple Pi
OFFICERS & STAFF Board or Directors
President
"-' Vice Pres-Pr~ams
Vice Pres-SI s
Treasurer
Secretary Directors "-"
CP/M Librarian
DOS 3.3 Lib.
- Tom Warrick
301 6564389
Pascal Lib.
301 951-0838
- Adrien Youell
ProOOS Lib.
- Bruce Field
301 340-7038
SigMac Lib.
703 759-5479
- Edward Mb!srson
Group Purchases
- Peter Com
301 251-6369
- J.T. (Tom) DeMay Jr
301 779-4632
Head Reading Lib.
301 490-7484
- RatmOnd Hobbs
Apple Tea COOrd.
- Bo Platt
806 353-9723
Arrangements
- Leon Raesly
301 460-0754
Bullettn Board Opr.
202 244-3649
- Jab Thal
Dealer ReI. Comrn.
- Jo n V~lewede
301 460-3047
- Rich Wasserstrom
Past President
- David Morganstein
rOlj972-4263
General Counsel
Editor - Bernie Urban
301 229-3458 Membership
Head Software Libr. - Jim Little
301 762-3215
Office Managers - Gena & Bernie Urban 301 654-8060
Pr~am
Journal Staff: Pub ici~ Chairman
Public elations
Associate Editor
- Gena Urban
pOl~ 229-3458
Tutorials
Store Distrbttt.
- Raymond Hobbs
301 490-7484
Columnists:
Apple 1//
- Charlene Ryan
703 836-0463
DlsabledSIG
- Jay Thal
202 244-3649 Volunteer Coord.
EDSIG
- Peter Combes
301 251-6369
SIG Chairmen: GAMESIG
- Bl!£IY Bedrick 703 534-7891
Appleseeds
LISA SIG
- John Day 301 621-7543
Apple ///
MacNovice
- Ralph Begleiter
301 340-3296
Pascal (pIG)
- MiKe Hartman
301 445-1583
- Bruce Field
301 340-7038 ~&A
~r~"c
acQ&A
- Jonathan Hardis
301 330-1422
DisabledSIG
Meeting Reports - Adrien Youell
301 951-0838
EDSIG
Softviews
- David Morganstein
301 972-4263
Forth SIG
Telecomm
- Dave Harvey
703 527-2704
Frederick Slice
Review Coord.
- Jim Burger
(day) 202 337-7900
GAMESIG
Review Coord.
- Ra~ona Hobbs
301 490-7484
LAWSIG
Review Coord.
- David Morganstein
301 972-4263
LISASIG
301 474-5310
UBBS - ~ple
- =Alexander
Pie Ala Mode Slice
UBBS - ac
- Reg.ina Litman
301 585-0044
SigMac View from Durham- Coos Klugewicz
Si~Mac Prog. Grp.
Disketeria Staff: - Jim Little
(301) 762-3215
N WSIG
- Dave Weikert, John Malcolm, J~ Aso,
Pascal (pIG)
- Ed LanWat Foreman, Gordon tubbs,
PI-SIG
- John De areo, Fred Edwards, Andy
STOCKSIG
- Gallant, William Jones, Shirley Weaver
Telecomm. SIG
- Nancy Little, Richard Langston II
Washington Apple Pi, Ltd. 8227 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 201 Bethesda, MD 20814 Business Office (301) 654-8060 Copyright 1986, Washington Apple Pi, Ltd.
- Joe England
(301) 953-1949
rlS38-S636
-- John
Dyer
J.T. (TOm~May
Jr. 301 779-4632
- Tony An
on
301 277-0386
- Rieli Wasserstrom • 703 893-7143
·~venings 7:00-9:30, M- ~
- Walt rancis
(202) 66-5742
-Leon Moore
- Leon Raesly
- John Alden
- Jim Burger
(day)
- Rich Wasserstrom
(day)
- Jim Bur~er
- Dana Sc wartz
- John Alden
- Hunter Alexander
- Leon Raesly
- Oscar Kramer
- George Sall
- Steve Stem
- Ted Meilier
- Sue Ro - Ian Thal
- David Ottalini &
- Bill Rosenmund
- Chuck Holzwarth
- Charles Franklin
- Jay Thal
- Peter Combes
- Kevin Nealon
- Scott Galbraith
- Ronald Wartow
- John Weld
- John Day
- Tom KrOll
- Don Landing
- Timoth Buehrer
- Bernie enson
- !,.any Taborek
- Ra~ond Hobbs
- Ro rt Wood
- George Kinal
n
r
1
301 j946-2642
460-0754
202 686-1656
202 337-7900
202
301
202
703
301
301
703
301
703
703
337-7900
654-8060
686-1656
820-8304
460-0754
384-5206
768-0212
881-2543
893-6845
356-9025
202
301
703
703
301
202
301
703
301
301
202
301
703
703
703
301
703
301
703
202
244-3649
681-5792
941-5050
751-7575
997-9138
244-3649
251-6369
280-1136
865-3035
654-4439
822-3354
621-7543
368-1929
690-1010
548-8971
951-5294
960-2250
490-7484
893-9591
546-7270
EDITORIAL
Had some fun at the last meeting describing what the
Urbans do in preparing the Journal. Some day we'll formalize
it and prepare fancy cartoons of how it's done. We also
initiated what promises to be a series on desktop publishing.
For those of you who missed the event, we have Richard
Rowell's version of the Apple 1/ session, Brooks Leffler's
coverage of the Mac portion, and Martin Kuhn, a brand new
member, hits it from a different viewpoint
We're gung ho on the new Desktop Publishing (DPub)
SIG and we have a new Board on WAP's UBBS System 3
(986-4715). Finally, we seem to have struck a receptive
chord, and there will be folks to comment on, teach and per
Washington Apple Pi haps be taught, the proper way of publishing a newsletter or
whatever. See especially Jay Condren's aricle on what was
covered at the initial DPub SIG meeting. Jay is willing to
serve as Chairperson, so what are you waiting for?
Speaking of new Boards, all please take note that the
EDSIG under the expert guidance of Peter Combes has also
started an educational Board, and Peter is serving as SYSOP.
Our interest here is in encouraging their use - the more Boards
are used the more materials for the Journal. By the way, isn't
it time for your first. next. (fill in the blank), article on your
favorite topic(s)?
®
Mareh 1986
3
PRESIDENT'S CORNER by Tom
Warrick
January and February have been very busy and exciting
months here at Washington Apple Pi. First, there were the
Apple World Conference and the MacWorld and AppleWorld
Expo (or was it "Expos"?) in San Francisco. With those
events came the announcement of the Macintosh Plus and
heightened speculation about Apple's next computers. Also
in January we had our fust meeting under the new, combined
meeting format. The new format was a success, but everyone
agreed there were several things we could do to improve it, and
so we'll be changing the format slightly beginning at our
March meeting. (See the chart on page 34 of this issue.)
Then in February we had the flISt user group conference on
CompuServe, which WAP chaired. It, too, was a success, and
the next one will be on March 2.
WAP Meeting Fonnal
Let's take care of WAP business before getting into the
fun stuff. The combined meeting format we tried for the fust
time in January was a success. Perhaps too much so, in fact
Even though the weather was abysmal, we had more people
(174, by my count) at the Apple 1/ desktop publishing
program than we've had at any general WAP meeting in the
past year. The Macintosh desktop publishing program
attracted even more people, 204 by my count We sold out of
all of the SigMac public domain software disks we had
available.
Not surprisingly, the business meeting was quite crowded,
but it made my heart feel good to have everyone together in
one place. This was particularly true on this occasion, when
the membership was being asked to vote on a dues increase
and to appropriate money to buy a new hard disk for our
bulletin board systems. (It appears, I am pleased to report,
that we may be able to get an excellent system for much less
than the $3,500 the membership voted to authorize. Lee
Raesly, Jim Burger and the BBS Committee deserve
everyone's thanks for their efforts on our behalf.)
And Bernie's and Gena's presentation on how they put the
WAP Journal together each month was one of the most
interesting we've had in a long time. The presentation was
highlighted by Bernie's sketches showing how the process
works. You would particularly have enjoyed the one showing
him with eight arms trying to deal with articles from people
who have submitted them late!
We can do better, however. The principal problem we
faced was in moving people in and out of the auditorium. In
addition, because some people were in the auditorium before
the business meeting, they got better seats for what followed
Most importantly, an hour for programs is simply too short.
Accordingly, beginning in Mtlrch, we're going to try this:
Journal distribution and disk sales will begin at 9:00 a.m. and
go on throughout the morning as demand requires and our
supply of volunteers permits. The dull, boring business
meeting will be held in the USUHS auditorium from 9:00 to
9:30. From 9:30 until 11 :00, we will have a program focused
around the Apple /I (and 11/) in the auditorium, while a Mac-
4
oriented Q&A session takes place in the cafeteria. At 11:00
we will take a IS-minute break to allow everyone to change
places for the next session. At 11:15, we will have a
Macintosh-oriented program in the auditorium while the
Apple /I Q&A session goes on in the cafeteria. Those SIGs
that meet after the meeting will start at about 12:45 p.m.
An important part of this new schedule is that some
announcements, particularly those that are product-specific
like Rich Wasserstrom's Group Purchase announcements, will
be made during the Q&A sessions rather than at the business
meeting. The hope is that the business meeting will cover
announcements of interest the organization as a whole, with
the Q&A sessions focusing on those matters of special
interest so that you won't have to wait around for the Apple /I
announcements if that is all you're interested in.
Kudos!
Congratulations to WAP members Ed Knepley and Bob
Plait, whose book Modula 2 Programming was named "Book
of the Month" by Jerry Pournelle in Byte magazine last
month. Modula 2, many say, is the programming language
that Pascal should have been, and Ed's and Bob's book is an
excellent teaching tool for this powerful and flexible language.
Ed is a supervisory engineer for the government, and Bob is
an attorney for Mesa Petroleum Corp. in Amarillo, Texas.
(He even knows T. Boone Pickens!) Bob has served as
WAP's fust Vice President for SIGs and is currently on the
Board of Directors. He also writes book review columns and
travels farther to WAP meetings than almost anyone. Their
book is available from Reston Publishing, Inc., a Prentice
Hall company.
Apple World Conference
On January 15-17, Apple Computer, Inc. brought together
2,000 representatives from its major constituencies-"key,"
i.e., large corporate, accounts; value-added resellers; dealers;
user groups; K-12 educators; and universities-for a series of
meetings in San Francisco to hear where Apple is headed in
the John Sculley em. It was interesting to see how Apple
handled an event this large, which must have cost them (by
one guess I heard) $10 million. By and large, we were pleased
at what we heard
First, Apple has begun to recognize the value and import
ance of user groups. The most powerful force in selling
microcomputers today is word-of-mouth (advertising is far
down the list), and user group members, who are better
informed on the whole than non-members, are recognized in
their offices and among their friends as excellent sources for
recommendations as to what computers are worth buying.
Also, user groups, which represent the distillation of the
experiences of hundreds of thousands of users nationwide, can
be an excellent source for ideas. To help build bridges to user
groups and to be the focal point for contacts between user
groups and people within Apple, Apple has created a "User
Group Evangelist", whose title hearkens to the "software
evangelists" that Apple used so successfully to build third
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
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NAME ________________________________________
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QTY
DESCRIPTION
PRICE
16 BIT 65C816 UPGRADE KITS FOR MULTIRAM /Ie ••••••••••••••••• 5159.95 FOR MULTIRAM ex ................. 5124.95 NOTE: Add $12/64K to upgrade memory on MULTIRAM lie or MULTIRAM RGB. APPLIED COMPUTER 2105 S. HARDY - SUITE 13 TEMPE, AZ 85282 (602) 839-5696
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Washington Apple Pi
March 1986
5
party software developer support for the Macintosh. Apple's
choice for this interesting job is EUen Petry Leanse, who,
coincidentally, turns out to be a friend of Jim Burger, WAP's
general counsel and one of our review coordinators. Ellen will
be at WAP's March 22 meeting, and has agreed (until her
senses get the better of her) to sit in for a while with Bruce
and Lee and Don and Bob on our Q&A sessions. So, if
you've ever wanted to say something direct to Appk, here's
your chance! (But be nice; we want her to come back.)
Two of the most interesting events at the conferences were
Steve Wozniak's after-dinner speech on what he did before he
started Apple, and Alan Kay's description of the Vivarium
(which defies a simple description) and other projects he is
working on at the frontier of technology and computer
science. Few people in the world qualify as either geniuses or
pioneers, but these men qualify as both. The Woz we all
know, of course. Alan Kay was one of the people at the
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center who created the Macintosh
user interface that has now become the standard for the way
people interact with computers. Apple captured both of these
talks on videotape, and WAP will have them available for
viewing (perhaps in your home) in the near future. (It turns
out, incidentally, that Bernie and Gena Urban, who prepare the
WAP Journal, are neighbors of Alan's mother. In fact, they
bought from her encyclopedias Alan used as a boy. If WAP
ever sets up a museum...)
The conference, particularly in conjunction with the
Expo(s?), were excellent sources of rumors and gossip about
where Apple is headed in the way of future products and
market strategies. It was hard to separate what was said at the
speeches and meetings from what was being said on the show
floor, so what follows is a melange grouped by subject:
Apple II: First, Apple )[+ owners will be most interested
in the statements John Sculley and Jean-Louis Gassee, Vice
President for Product Development, made regarding upg1'tJtk
paths. Apple is committed, they both said, to providing
upgrade paths to people who own Apple computers. The need
to let old Apple ][+ owners get in on new hardware and soft
ware technology was one of the points user group representa
tives tried to impress upon Apple during our session in
September; it appears that Apple listened. For Apple ) [+
owners, there is probably no way to economically add the
cards and chips necessary to make it into a lie. It appears as
though Apple may give Apple ][+ (and pre-plus) owners some
kind of price break or similar deal on the next Apple II.
What may be a test for this program was announced for the
education market, which will be encouraged to trade in
existing computer equipment (Apple and non-Apple) in
exchange for credit on new Apple computers. The key to this
program will be the reaction of the dealer network, which is
going to worry what Apple will do with all those used
computers. Sculley's and Gasset!'s statements were enough to
induce me, at least, to hold on to my venerable Apple )[
(serial number 13,709) for a while to see what happens.
For Apple /Ie owners, if you haven't yet upgraded to the
"enhanced" ROMs, you will probably be induced to do so by
the new software coming out to take advantage of MouseText
and other features. Also, the Calalyst 3.0 Mac-like user inter
face is probably going to catch on. Although it is not as fast
as the Mac (neither is an IBM PC running GEM), it is way
6
ahead. of ProDOS in ease of use.
Apple is not stinting on development of new computers in
the 1/ family. It is generally known that Apple has a number
of prototypes with different features and characteristics, so that
right now no one - even no one at Apple - knows with
certainty what the next Apple /I family member will look
like. But just as families tend to share certain traits, some of
the characteristics of the next Apple /I are known or can be
guessed. It will use the 65816 microprocessor, which will
allow it to run most of the Apple II software written for the
6502 or 65C02 we now all have, while at the same time
allowing developers to write software for the 65816's more
powerful 16-bit mode. Expect Apple to run the 65816 at the
highest clock speed possible commensurate with reasonable
economy in chip production, i.e., about ten megahertz, or ten
times faster than the 6502 on the Apple /I. Choplifter is
going to fly.
Expect more than 128K memory as standard, with the
option for additional memory boards. Every computer will
probably come with a mouse at no extra cost. The Sony 3.5·
inch disk drive will be the standard. Expect a SCSI interface
to be available. The slots are likely to be interesting. Apple
would like to let all (or almost all) Apple /I peripheral cards
work with the new II, but at the same time it would also like
to have slots with additional signal lines to accommodate the
more powerful cards sure to come out. I've seen some non
Apple slot designs that would do the trick, but they are hard
for the average user to cope with. The key question is: How
often do people open up the back to get at their peripheral
cards? Oh, and a last trivial detail: it will run MS·DOS
software. What I'd like to see is for Apple to do MS-DOS
emulation entirely in software, just to tweak mM's nose.
Finally, there have been some intriguing rumors that
refuse to go away that say that Apple will also come out with
a small, low-cost computer in the $500 price range.
Technically and economically, it is quite feasible to reduce the
Apple /I to a few chips and use other techniques to keep the
price way down. But this goes counter to much of Apple's
marketing philosophy. Few computer dealers could stay alive
selling Apple /I systems whose list price is $500.
Where is the Apple lie going? Apple seems committed
to it for the time being, despite everyone's prediction that it
will be the next Apple label to fall into the Ultimate Bit
Bucket. Perhaps European sales will keep it going. Apple
has said that it will always try to keep two types of models of
its main computer lines: an expandJJble model (e.g., the lie)
and a portable model (which the IIc is not). If the small, low
cost computer alluded to in the previous paragraph is a truly
portable /lc-compatible computer, Apple may have
something.
Macintosh: The Mac Plus is not the only Mac that is
supposed to be announced in 1986. Remember the statement
just made that Apple is trying to have one expandable and one
portable model of each of its computer lines? The 512K Mac
or the Mac Plus are the portable versions. During one of the
talks at the opening session Apple displayed a number of
slides quickly on a screen. One of them was a Mac, viewed
from the rear, with an open door in the center. (Alas, it was
dark inside.) Jean-Louis Gassee's license plate says, "OPEN
MAC'. Draw your own conclusions.
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
It seems likely that the next Macintosh will use a 68020
microprocessor. But because of incompatibilities between
the 68000 now used on Macs and the 68020, particularly in
the way it handles "exceptions," i.e., certain types of
"unusual" events, some Mac software simply will not run.
Apple uses the 68020 on the LaserWriter, and it is a better
chip, though, so the 68020 has to be given the edge.
The next Mac will not have the screen in the same box as
the computer circuitry. This means you get your choice of
screen s~s, including up to 17 inches. Personally, a 17-inch
screen is too big for my desk. Beuer would be a full-page
screen, with a little extra on the top and side, for desktop
publishing and for offices that need to be able to look at an
entire page of a document. No other micro offers this except
as a third-party add-on, if you can fmd it. If we lobby Apple
for this, perhaps they can be convinced.
A color screen will also be an option. But, let's face it,
do you really need color? If Apple can give us color with no
degradation in screen resolution, fine, but I would much rather
have a 1,204-by-l,204 bibnapped screen, i.e., almost twice
the horizontal resolution of the Mac today, rather than colors I
can't easily reduce to paper.
Expect more voices, particularly since the clock speed will
be cranked up. One would hope thatfolU' megabytes of RAM
would be the minimum size. MS.DOS capability seems
inevitable.
Other stuff: Apple is headed toward a line of common
peripherals that will work with both the /I and the Mac. This
extends down to the disk level-expect that you will be able
to take 3.5·inch data disks from your Apple II at home and
read them on your Mac at wolk.
Apple is going to buy a eray XMP - perhaps the most
powerful computer in the world-on which it will do software
tools development. One of the great embarrassments Apple
has faced with the Macintosh is the fact that native machine
program development in a high-level language other than
Forth was not possible for months after the Mac came out.
The utilities on the Software Supplement like ResEdit still
are not "fmished." Ideally, on the day the 65816-based "//"
comes out, Apple would like to ship finished copies of the
program development tools to every certified software
developer interested in them. To make this possible, Apple
could write a 65816 simulator on the Cray and have Dan
Cochran and his people in Tools and Compilers develop the
necessary assemblers, compilers, and utilities before the next
/I is actually ready. The power of the Cray would permit
software designers to cope with the inevitable changes in the
hardware as the project approaches completion. Besides, the
Cray could run a heck of a bulletin board system.
The Apple World Conference was quite an affair. I would
perhaps liken it to spending two days in the Eastern shuttle:
the seats were very close together and the ventilation was
poor. Every hour we had to get up and go to another crowded
room. But you felt as if you were going somewhere!
The best party was sponsored by MAUG (Micronetworked Apple User Group, on CompuServe). The security
people threw us out twice!
One of the oddest things at the Expo was a woman Roger
Wagner Publishing had passing out literature while dressed up
in a Playboy bunny costume. WAP's booth was near
Washington Apple Pi
Roger's, and we heard enough loud comments from passersby
to know that this caused considerable ill-feeling among quite a
few people, men and women alike. As one person said, it
made the place look like an auto show. Roger, if you're
reading this--(:'mon now. You deserve better. Your products
deserve beuer. And if this happens again, we'll sic Regina
Libnan on you-then you'll be sorry.
Finally, even though it will probably embarrass the
people involved, I have to let you in on the fact that we have
in our group a number of people of national stature in the
Apple computing community. People from around the
country - some of them very familiar names in the industry
- came up to us and asked about Tom Vier, our Corvus and
UniDisk expert; Jon Hardis, our Mac Q&A columnist and
CompuServe coordinator; Walt Mossberg, our AppleWorks
expert; and even Ron Wartow, our GameSIG chair. When
Phil Roybal, a consultant for Apple, described the history of
Apple-user groups relations, he asked if anyone present in
1986 was at the fIrSt such meeting in 1980. Only Bernie
Urban, our Editor, could raise his hand. (Bernie was
representing our friends at NOVAPPLE during the Confer
ence, and was working for WAP during the Expo.) We are
very fortunate to have these folks and so many other people
just a local phone call away to help us out whenever we get in
a jam with our disk drives, our Macs, Wizardry, or anything
else. Thanks also to Tim Buehrer, Jim Burger, Joe Kelly,
Steve Lurya, Tom Nichols, and Carol Walker for their many
hours of work behind the WAP counter at the Expo.
@
· LaserCopies
50¢ each for WAP
•Plus Resource Time - $10hlour (Mln!mum S5.oo)
• Digitizing: MacintizerTU -
$4Jhour'; ThunderScanTU
-
$225/acan'
• DeskTop Publishing Word-processing
-t
Typesetting
-t
Quality Reprographics PC Resources· Appointments & Messages • 860-9600 Reston Copy Center· 11800 Sunrise Valley Dr· Reston, VA 22091 Complete service information & price sheet available on request. ,.sponsbIo lot c!JOk _-up - _ ouI>fod 10 "","",. . .t>out nGl~. 86Q2tO
AppQn"",,1S Roqwod • ClIonlS
March 1986
7
EVENT QUEUE
Washington Apple Pi meets on the 4th Saturday (usually)
of each month, both Apple and Mac. Library transactions,
Journal pickup, memberships, etc. are from 9:00-9:30 AM
and during the Q& A sessions (times for these vary according
to the main meeting topic). The business meeting is from
10:30 to 11:00.
A sign interpreter and reserved seating can be provided for
the hearing impaired, but we need 5 business days notice.
Call the office.
Following are dates and topics for upcoming months:
March
22
April
May
26
24
June
28
- Apple /Ie SWyftCard - Raskin & Youell
- Spreadsheet Comparison for Mac
- Apple Evangelist -Ellen Petry Leanse
- Dvorak Keyboard for Apple and Mac
- Apple /I open
- Hierarchical File System for the Mac
- Garage Sale
The Executive Board of Washington Apple Pi meets on
the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 PM at the office.
All members are welcome to attend. (Sometimes an alternate
®
date is selected. Call the office for any late changes.)
General Information
Apple user groups may reprint without prior permission
any portion of the contents herein, provided proper author,
title and publication credits are given.
Membership dues for Washington Apple Pi are $27.00 for
the first year and $20.00 per year thereafter, beginning in the
month joined. If you would like to join, please call the club
office or write to the office address.
A membership
application will be mailed to you. Subscriptions to the
Washington Apple Pi Journal are not available. The Journal
is distributed as a benefit of membership.
Mailing Notice: Change of address must be postmarked at
least 30 days prior to effective date of move. Journal issues
missed due to non-receipt of change of address may be acquired
via mail for $2.50 per issue.
Current office hours are:
Monday - Friday - 10 AM to 2:30 PM
Tues. & Thurs.
7 PM to 9:00 PM
12 Noon to 3:00 PM
Saturday
MINUTES
SUMMARY OF JANUARY BOARD MEETING
The Executive Board of Washington Apple Pi met on
January 8, 1986 at 7:30PM at the office, with Tom Warrick
presiding. Plans are being made to meet with the landlord to
8
extend the lease of the present office space. The audit
committee has asked that everyone who is involved with
revenue collection or disbursements write a summary of the
procedures used in the normal course of operations. Since the
UBBS was put into operation in September, it has been
modified extensively. Attempts are being made to get our
money back for the Sunol hard disk, and the Board approved
the probable legal action. Work is being continued to get the
system back up by using floppies. The Board voted to asked
the membership to authorize $3500 for the BBS Committee
to buy a hard disk system while attempts are being made to
recover the original funds from Sunol. The BBS Committee
was also authorized to spend up to $1000 for two 3 112"
drives plus controller cards. The Board agreed to pay
transportation for Bernie Urban to attend the MacWorld Expo
in California. Two local groups are interested in a federation
of Macintosh users groups and in consolidating disk libraries
and other services. Don Landing will be meeting with them
again for further discussions. The meeting expressed by
acclamation its appreciation of the excellent party hosted by
Ed and Priscilla Myerson. The Board decided to raise the cover
price of the Journal to $2.50. The sale price will be subject
to review by the Board. Disketeria prices will be discounted
by $1 per disk, both Apple 1/ and Mac, when purchased in
quantities of 5 or more. Mac disks will be reduced from $7 to
$6 for normal price. The Board decided to recommend an
increase in membership dues from $20 to $25 for renewing
members and from $27 to $30 for new members. A
committee was set up to examine the idea of a graduated rate
structure for different categories of members. A motion to
recommend to the membership the purchase of a Mac hard
disk for use in Journal preparation was tabled until the next
meeting.
@
APPLE TEAS
by Amy T. Billingsley
The very knowledgeable Pat Nealy, Sales Manager of
Clinton Computer, has agreed to host and speak to the March
Washington Apple Pi
Apple Tea
Wednesday, March 12,7 - 9 PM
on Database Management with AppleWorks
Clinton Computer Classroom
6443 Old Alex. Ferry Road at Branch Avenue·
Clinton, MD
Refreshments
This should be helpful for beginners. Please RSVP to
Amy Billingsley, (301) 622-2203. Be prepared to leave
message. Bring computer if convenient (the more hands on,
the better). Come early and browse.
• Directions: Exit 7A from outer circle of Beltway. Take
Branch Ave. South 2.5 miles. Turn left on Old Alex. Ferry
Road. Make an immediate right into the shopping center
which includes Denny's and Pizza Hut. Pass those shops
(you'll be parallel to Branch Ave.). Come to back of parking
lot. Turn left. Clinton Computer will be in strip on your left.
Enter center door (not the one on the far end of the strip). @
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
*
March 1986
*
SIGNEWS
WAP SUNDAY
MOIIDAY 2
3
9
10
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
FRIDAY
4 Applell
5
Beginning Deadline
Tutorial #1 for Journal
7:30-9:00PM Articles
Office
6 SigMac
7:30PM-Lady
of Lourdes;
DisabledSIG
7PM-CCCC ->
<-Thursday
6 contd.
GAMESIG
7:30PM Off.
11 Applell
Beginning
Tutorial #2
7:30-9:00PM
Office
13STOCKSIG
8PM Office;
Apple III
7:30PM-Conv
Ctr. Inn ->
<-Thursday
13th contd.
FAC Slice
7:30 MRIID
Ft.Detrick
16
17 Mac Beg
Tutor.'1
7-10PM Off;
PI-SIG 8:00
PM Office
18 Applell
Beginning
Tutorial #3
7:30-9:00PM
Office
23
24
Mac Begin.
Tutorial '2
7-10 PM
Offi ce
25
BBS Comm.
Office
7:30 PM
30
12
Executive
Board
7:30 PM
Office
----------- ----------- ----------19
20
Pascal SIG
8:00 PM
Office
21
----------- ----------- ----------26
28
27
EDSIG
7:30 PM
Offi ce
*
April 1986
*
WAP
MONDAY
TUESDAY
1 Apple/!
Beginning
Tutorial #l
7:30-9:00PM
Office
6
13
20
WEDNESDAY
2
8 Apple/! 9
7
Deadline
Beginning
Executive
for Journal Tutorial #2 Board
Articles
7:30-9:00PM 7:30 PM
Office
Office
14
21
Mac Begin.
Tutorial #l
7-10 PM
Office
15 Applel I
Beginning
Tutorial 113
7:30-9:00PM
Offi ce
22
29
28
Mac Begin. BBS Comm.
Tutorial 12 Office
7-10 PM
7:30 PM
Office
Washington Apple Pi

AM.
31
SUNDAY
Apple III SIG meets on the
second Thursday of the month at 7:30
1
PM in the Convention Center Inn,
No SigMac
Meeting comer of 12th & K NW. The next
see Mar. 2 meeting will be on March 13.
Apple lie meets each month after
the regular WAP meeting.
8
DPub SIG
Appleseeds is the special interest
12 Noon
group
for our younger members, age 9
Office
and up. They meet during the regular
WAP meeting.
15
DisabledSIG meets on the first
FORTH SIG
Thursday of each month at the Chevy
10:00 AM
Office
Chase Community Center, 7:00 PM.
next meeting will be on Mar 6.
---------- The
See their news elsewhere in this issue.
22 WAP
Meeting
EdSI G - the education special
Apple II & interest group - meets on the 4th Thurs
Mac
9:00 USUHS day of the month at the office, 7:30
---------- PM. The next meeting will be on
29
March 27.
ForthSIG meets on the third Sat
urday of the month at the office, 10:00
SATURDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
3 SigMac
7:30PM-Lady
of Lourdes;
GameSIG-Off
7:30PM ->
<-Thursday
3rd contd.
DisabledSIG
7PM-CCCC
10STOCKS IG
8PM Office;
Apple II I
7: 30P~1-Conv
Ctr. Inn->
<-Thursday
10th contd.
FAC Sl ice
7:30HRIID
Ft. Detrick
16
17
Pascal SIG
8:00 PM
Offi ce
18
23
24
EDSIG
7:30 PM
Office
25
30 March 1986
GameSIG meets on the first
Thursday of each month at the office,
7:30 PM. The next meetlng will be on
March 6. See their news elsewhere in
this issue.
LISA/MacXL SIG meets after
the SigMac meeting on the 4th Satur
day of the month.
PIG, the Pascal Interest Group,
SATURDAY meets on the third Thursday of each
month at the office, 8:00 PM. The
5
meeting on March 20 will be on Apple
Pascal and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
programming.
PI-SIG meets on the third Monday
of each month at the office, 8:00 PM.
12
DPub SIG
SigMac Programmers meet on the
12 Noon
1st
Thursday of each month at Our
Offi ce
Lady of Lourdes School, 7500 Pearl
Street, Bethesda, MD. Macintosh and
19
Apple 1/ meet together on the 4th
Saturday (general meeting) at USUHS
at 9:00 AM.
StockSIG meetings are on the
second Thursday of each month at the
26 WAP
Meeting office, 8:00 PM.
Apple II &
Telecom SIG meets after the
Mac
9:00 USUHS regular WAP meeting on the 4th Satur
day.
@
9
WAP HOTLINE
ForUsebyWAPMernbersOnly
Have a problem? The following club members have agreed to help other members. PlEASE, keep in mind that the people listed are
VOLUNTEERS. Respect all telephone restrictions. where listed, and no calls after 10:00 PM except where indicated. Users of the
HoUine are reminded that calls regardin~ commercial software packages should be limited to those you have purchased. Please do
not call about copied software for which you have no documentation. Telephone numbers are home phones unless otherwise
specified. When requests are made 10 return calls. long distance will be collecl
(301) 330-4052 ~301~ 621-7543
Games - Apple"
Charles Hall
General
John Day
(301) 654-4439 Ron Wartow
Dave Harvey
703 527-2704
Games - Mac
Robert MartlD
301 498-6074
Hard Disks Tom Vier (ABBS)
~301~ 986-8085 Accounting. Packages
Corvus & Omninet
Accountant(Dec.Sup.)
Mark Pankin
03 524-0937
Sider
Jaxon Brown 301 350-3283 301 350-3283
Otis Greever 301 262-5607 BPI Programs
Jaxon Brown
301 262-5607
Languages (A=AI!PJeson, I=Integer, P=Pasc:al, Otis Greever
Leon Raesly
01 460-0754
M=Machlne) Home Accountant
01 967-39n 301 460-0754
A
Louis Biggie Howardsoft (Tax)
Leon Raesly
301 251-6369 301 262-5607
A
Peter Combes Otis GreeVt..'t'
301 422-6458 APPLE SSC
Bernie Benson
301 951-5294
A,I
Jeff Dillon 301 869-7466 Apple TechNotes
Joe Chelena
703 978-1816
A
Richard Langston 03 524-0937 301 969-1990
A
Mark Pankiri AppleWorks
Jay Jones (Ball)
609 596-8816 03 369-3366
A,I,M
Richard Untied Ken Black
703 569-2294 Ken DeViio
703 960-0787
A,I,M
John Love 301 490-7484 M
Raymond Hobbs Communications Packages and Modems-Telecom.
George Kinal (7-10) 202 546-7270
P
DOnn Hoffman
• 412 578-8905 Anchor Mark 12
Jeremy Parker
01 229-2578
Forth
Bruce Field 301 340-7038 03 471-1479 A~e Modems
John Day
301 621-7543
USP
Fred Naef ASCII Express
Dave Harvey
703 527-2704
MS Basic
Ray Hobbs(7:30-10) 301 490-7484 BIZCOMP Modem
Jerem), ParKer
301 229-2578
Math/OR Applns.
Mlirk Pankin 03 524-0937 General
Tom Nebiker
216 867-7463
Monitor, RGB
John Day
301 621-7543 Hayes Smartmodem
Bernie Benson
301 951-5294
Operating ,Systems MDM
Joe England (7-10)
301 953-1949
Apple DOS
Richard Langston 301 869-7466 703 569-2294 Robotics Modem
Joan B. Dunham •
301 585-0989
John Love 301 460-6537 301 585-0989
Adam Robie SeriAll Comm. Card
Joan B. Dunham •
Smartcom I
Hannon Pritchard
301 972-4667
Richard Untied 609 596-8816 VisiTerm
Steve Wildslrom
301 564-0039
CP!M
Ray Hobbs (7:30-10) 301 490-7484 301 951-5294
LeOn Raesly
301 460-0754 XTALK CP!M Comm.
Bernie Benson
Computers, Specific
ProDOS
Richard LaDgston
301 869-7466 703 569-2294 Apple /lc
John Day
~301~ 621-7543
John Love
Scott Rullman
301 779-5714 Printers LISAlMac XL
John Day
301 621-7543
General Walt Francis 202 966-5742 301 460-0754 Leon Raesly Macintosh:
Joan B. Dunham • 301 585-0989 301 262-9080
General Steve Hunt A1 831 series Joe El'lgland (7-10)
301 953-1949 301 779-5714
Apple Color Plotter John Uay 301 621-7543 Scott Rullman 71 334-3265
Donald Schmitt John Day 301 621-7543 Apple Daisy Wheel Rob Clark 804 850-2016
Dlllsywriter 2000 Bill Etue 703 620-2103 Chart
Terry Monies
703 471-4610 Henry Greene 202 363-1797 Steve Hunt
Comm. & Modems
301 262-9080
IDS 460 Jeff StetekJuh 03 521-4882 Concertware
Skip Horvath
703 536-4091
John Day 301 621-7543 I~agewriter 703 5274072
Jeff Dillon 301 434-0405 Digitizers
JoAnn Stewart
MA-80 Bill Mark 301 972-4263
301 779-8938 Excel
David Morganstein
NEe 8023 301 262-9080
Michael Proffitt 301 874-2270 File Vision
Steve Hunt
Okidata Hard Disk
David Jamison(day)
301 589-8841
Dan Robrish 301 530-4202 Helix
703 662-0640
703 378-4391 Phil Leber Scribe
Jim B
•
Silentype
Harv;Zvine 301 299-9380
Bruce Field 301 340-7038 301 330-1422
SpreadSheets
301 460-0754 Inside Mac
Jon Ifardis Leon Raesly 703 690-1010
Walt franCIS Don Landing
202 966-5742 Walt Francis Lans.,-C,Pascal,XUsp Carolyn KoIDada
703 691-1986
Lotus 1-2-3
202 966-5742 Ray Hobbs(7:30-10) 301 490-7484 301 434-3256
MacUraw
Tom Berilla
Terry Prudden 202 362-8123
301 933-3065 MacUon (DBMS)
Mark Miani
MultiPlan
202 966-5742 MacProject
Jay Lucas
703 751-3332
VisiCalc
Wall Francis Sprdshl 2.O(MagicCalc) Leon Raesly 301 330-1422
301 460-0754 MacTerminal
Jon Hardis
301 356-9384
SuoerCalc Ver. 2.0
301 460-0754 Multiplan
John Boblitz
Leon Raesly Stat Packages
Mark Pankin 703 690-1010
703 524-0937 Don Landing
Steve Hunl
301 262-9080
301 972-4263 David Morganstein Walt Francis
Robert WoOd 202 966-5742
Stock Market
03 893-9591 MusicWorks
Skip' Horvath
703 536-4091
Time-Sharing
Dave Harvey 703 527-2704 OverVue
Walt Francis 202 966-5742 Word Processors
J.T.(1om) DeMaX Jr. 301 779-4632
Spreadsheets
DaVid M~anstem
301 972-4263
Apple Writer II
301 530-7881 Dianne Lorenz Leon Raesly
301 460-0754 Spreadsheets&Graphcs Bob PuIgino
202 797-0879
Sidekick
Ray HoObs(7:30-10)
301 490-7484
202 298-9107 Format II
Henry ,Donahoe Word
301 464-2154
MartyMilrod
Gutenberg
Neil Muncy Can. 41 298-3964 Data Bases
& Jr.
Harris Silverstone 301 435-3582 dBase II
Paul Bublitz
301 2614124
Letter Perfect Leon Raesly
301 460-0754 703 893-5985
John Staples
& S~ly Perfect dBase II & III
Ray Hobbs(7:30-10)
301 490-7484
Magic Window and II Joyce C. Uttle 01 321-2989 Jim Kellock (day)
301 986-9522
Clirl Eisen 03 354-4837 Peach Text Leon Raesly
301 460-0754
PIE Writer!AJ'Ple PIE Jim Graham 703 643-1848 DB Master
Dave Einhorn
301 593-8420
ScreenWrilerlI Peter Combes 301 251-6369 Data Perfect
Leon Raesly
301 460-0754 E.E.Carter 202 363-2342 Data Factory
Bob Schmidt
301 736-4698
Peter Rosden 301 229-2288 Su~xtlI General Manager
Normand Bernache
301 935-5617
WOrd Handler Jon Vaupel 301 9n-3054 PFS
Bill Etue
703 620-2103
Word Juggler lie
Carl Eisen 03 354-4837 Ginll}' S~vak
202 362-3887
Word Pcifect
James Ed wards 301 585-3002 JJ.
Fmkelslein
301
652-9375
Word Star
Joe England (7-10) ~u~t1e II
301 953-1949 John Staples
703 893-5985
Dana Reil 301 350-3283 VisiPJot
Leon Raesly
01 460-0754
• Calls up llDtil midnight are ok. 10
March 1986 Washington Apple Pi
"COMPUTER SHOPPER": A Magazine Review by
Merle Block
This article reviews the monthly magazine Computer
Shopper, based on the February 1986, Vol. 6 No. 2, issue.
The magazine is large (14" x 11", 275 pages), and is printed
on newsprint. Subscriptions to Computer Shopper, Inc., 407
S. Washington Avenue, P.O. Box F, Titusville, FL 32781,
are listed as $18 per year (USA), but an insert card has a
special of $15 for 12 issues, $26 for 24 issues, phone 1-800
327-9926. Single copies are $2.75. I have seen copies during
the fmt part of the month at the Pentagon book store, and
some other DC area book stores, such as Walden's. The
masthead date is one month after the available date.
Computer Shopper covers all brands of computers and
peripherals. The main index and the classified ad index are
arranged according to type of equipment Besides the ads and
articles, there are lists of User Groups, listed by states;
Bulletin Boards, listed by phone area codes; and coming
events, listed by dates.
I believe that most readers buy the magazine for the ads.
It has very good ads for repair parts, chips, add-ons, plug-ins,
etc. However, many of the articles are both interesting and
informative. Contributors include Stan Veit (Asst. Publisherl
Editor), Don Lancaster and Les Solomon. I enjoyed Stan
Veit's series on the early history of the Apple, from the
viewpoint of the fmt East Coast dealer, and Don Lancaster's
article with a simple and fast subprogram to shuffle playing
cards.
The magazine make-up and editing leaves much to be
desired: the February '86 issue omitted Apple from the main
index, although there are articles on the Apple. The articles
frequently jump from one page to another (Don Lancaster's
February article goes from page 57 to 58, to 11 5 to 117, to
121 to 122). Classified ads are broken at the bottom of the
column and continued in the next column, without a subject
listed at the top of the page. (Reading the ads on page 227,
one has to trace back to page 223 to find that the subject is
"108 APPLE SOF1WARE PERIPHERAL".) The type size
in the "Computer Shopper Mart"TM pages is sometimes too
small to read without a magnifying glass.
Stan Veit's February Editorial lists the major topics to be
covered in the following issues (subject to change): March
- mM compatible computers; April - hard disk backup; May
integrated software; June - the "rebirth" of the home computer;
July - portable computers and printers; August -languages for
computers; September - personal computers in schools;
November - single board computers; and December - awards
for the Computer Shopper's best buys of the year. @
WASHINGTON APPLE PI BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS Bulletin Board Operator ...........
SYSOP Emeritus ...................
Special Consultant .................
Hard Disk Consultant .............
Pro~~onsultant .........
Library flIes
rammer .........
BBS Files List SOP ...........
GrouP. Purchase Files SYSOP...
Indexing Committee - Chairman.
Member ...........................
Member ...........................
Leon H. Raesly, L.C.S.W. Tom Warrick Barry Fox Dave Harvey Rich MlodoCh Mike Ungerman
Jack Mortimer
Rich Wasserstrom
Emil Levine
BOMie Walker Jeff Berger SYSTEM 1 (986-8085) SYSOP.. Joe Chelena
Hardware, Software, General &
Lafayette Park Boards SYSOP.Joe Chelena CP/M Board Board SYSOP ..... Joe England dBASE II Board SYSOP ......... Nick Veloz Apple III Board SYSOP ......... Carl Bowman CommentslSugs. Board SYSOP. Lee Raesly SYSTEM 2 (986-8086) SYSOP.. Larry Halff
MAC Hardware, Software, &
GossipIMisc. Boards SYSOP.. Larry Halff
Telecomunications &
Telecom SIG Board SYSOP ... George Kinal GameslGameSlG Board SYSOP. Ron Wartow BASIC pryg. Board SySOP...... Mike Ungerman AppleWorkS Board SYSOP ...... Ken De Vito CommentslSugs. Board SYSOP. Lee Raesly Washington Apple Pi
SYSTEM 3 (986-4715)
DesktQp Pub. Board SySOP.... Mark Walter
Press Releases Board
Tech Notes Board
EDSIG Board SYSOP ............ Peter Combes
Apple-Link Board SYSOP ...... Bernie Urban
SYSTEM 4 (871-7978) SYSOP.. Lee Raesly
The Classified SYSTEM - Hardware, Software.
Misc. & Employment & Pi OfficerslVolun. Boards
SYSTEM 5 (890-8984) SYSOP.. Alice Allen
The Journal & Indexes SYSTEM
SYSTEM 6 (703-450-6822)
SySOP...............................
John A. Gersic
(The Manassas/Great Falls Slice SYSTEM)
Rardware Board SYSOP .......... Bruce Johnson
Sftwr., Misc., Gossip SYSOP.. John A. Gersic
SYSTEM 7 (301-662-3131)
SySOP...............................
Scott Galbraith
e Frederick App'le Core Slice SYSTEM)
e Cracker Barrel BBS)
acintosh Board SySOP........ Kurt Holter fi]
BBS Committee - Charirman ...... Lee Raesly
Members - Joe Chelena, Mike Ungerman, Barry Fox,
Dave Harvey,_ ~ Halff, Marty Milrod, Emil Levine,
Dave HelfricK, Joan Dunham, Tom Warrick
& YOU, if you attend!
March 1986
11
CLASSIFIEDS
HELP! Non-profit learning center in Rockville despe
rately needs your tax-deductible contribution of an Apple
computer for working with adults who have learning prob
lems. Call Mark at the Center for Unique Learners. (301) 231
0115.
FOR SALE: Macintosh XL, 2 Megabytes of RAM, 10
Megabytes of hard disk. Also, Mac Software: MacFortan,
$80; Omnis 2, $75; Quartet, $50; MS Chart, $55. Call
David (301) 972-4263.
FOR SALE: General Accounting software modules
(published by Software Dimensions), latest versions, suitable
for Apple ][, ][+, lie (and //I in emulation) - (1) General
Ledger Accounting Module, $150; Payroll Module, $150. Or
both at $275. This is 55% off list. Call Norm (301) 262
7823.
FOR SALE: Full blown local area network. Corvus 20
meg hard rusk drive with 4 transporter cards for Apple ][-lIe.
Complete with diskserver and lioftware for DOS 3.3 and
ProDOS. Cables and connector boxes. Under 1 year old!
New system sells for over $6000. Must sell for $3200 or
make offer! Call David (301) 699-0301.
FOR SALE: Helix for the Macintosh, $160. Call Howard
Deutch (301) 340-8442, 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM.
FOR SALE: Microsfot Softcard Premium System
Original cost $650, sell for $295. Includes original documen
tation, Ramcard, 80-column card with sofLc;witch, softcard,
CP/M and Microsoft Basic. Also, nearly 100% of WAP
Journal back issues at $.75 each. Carroll Sturm (301) 831
8704, evenings and weekends.
FOR SALE: Titan Neptune 80-column card w/192K,
software for DOS, Pascal and CP/M, $165; IBM Graphic
Printer w/cable, $240; C. Itoh 8510SP Printer 180cps draft
and 120cps normal, $325; Microlek Q-disk 128K RAM disk
DOS or ProDOS ROMs with CP/M and Pascal software,
$150; Videx Function Strip (new), $15; Videx Videoterm 80
col card w/softswitch, inverse char. chip and utility software,
$125; Nibbles Away II ver. C, $20, RS232 modem cable,
$15; Apple Integer Card, $45; The General Manager database
management system, $65; Microsoft Softcard II 6-MHz
w/64K (new), $225. Call Tom evenings only (301) 935
5520.
FOR SALE: Apple][ Fortran and Pascal by Apple with 3
manuals and 6 rusks, $100; Viewmax-80 Preboot rusk for
Apple Writer II, VisiCalc, and Multiplan by Micromax, plus
Apple Writer II disk w/manual, $20; ProDOS rusk and
manual, 2 complete sets, $20 each; Epson printer card, $30.
Reasonable offers considered. Call Andrew Hinley (301) 926
0060.
FOR SALE: Macintosh 512K with External Drive,
presently under AppleCare (Extended Warranty) until August
86 (it is transferable), $1595. Also, 5 Megabyte Profile hard
disk (under AppleCare) with either Apple I/e or Apple 11/
interface card (specify), $439; Apple Access 1/, $29; Apple
Pascal Device Support Tools, $10. Write or call Stephen
Bach, Route 2, Box 89, ScottsviIIe VA 24590, (804) 286
3466.
FOR SALE OR TRADE: Best Offer. Apple Writer II,
12
Ver 2.0 ProDOS, brand new, still in shrink-wrap.
MicroBuffer IllS - Buffered serial printer interface w/32K ofon
board RAM, used but in mint conrution. I could use 256K
dynamic RAM chips of 150ns or faster; AE clock card, unused
DSDD disks, cash - make offer. Bob Oringel 262-1355 or
464-8348.
FOR SALE: Apple /1/ computer, 256K single drive,
hardly used, great backup unit for /II user, $750. Add printer,
monitor and Advanced Version VisiCalc, $850. Call Stuart
Cohen (301) 774-9182, evenings.
@
COMMERCIAL CLASSIFIEDS FOR SALE: Keyboard cables for the Macintosh. 12 ft
long coiled cables $12.50 and flat cables $6.00 + $.201ft
Custom cables made on order for any use. Jay Heller,
Adaptation Electronics (301) 948-7440.
FOR SALE: Gemini lOX printer with interface, $190.
Mirage Professional WP software, $20. Call Debra 299
6155.
@
BYLAW CHANGES
Pursuant to Article XV of the bylaws of Washington
Apple Pi, Ltd., notice is given of the following bylaw
change:
On December 12, 1985, the WAP Board of Directors voted
to add after the first sentence of Article V, section 6,
"Expulsion": "Damaging WAP property or rusrupting WAP
services shall be grounds for expulsion."
The Board made this change in light of two recent inci
dents where members have been observed making deliberate
attempts to crash WAP's bulletin board systems.
Meaningless Bylaw Change
Pursuant to Article XV of the bylaws of Washington
Apple Pi, Ltd., notice is given of the following bylaw
change:
On December 12, 1985, the WAP Board of Directors voted
to amend Article XII, section 3, "Fiscal Year," from, "The
fiscal year of WAP shall be from July 1 to June 30," to, "The
fiscal year of WAP shall be from June 1 to May 31."
The Board made this change so that the bylaws reflect
what has in fact been WAP's practice for many years, i.e., to
have its fISCal year run from June 1 to the next May 31
@.
March 1986
DISABLEDSIG NEWS
by Jay
~
Apple- SoftY8re
Thai
The DisabledSIG has been relatively quiet over the past
several months, as you have probably noticed from the
absence of our column.
Way back when, in early 1984, we had the opportunity to
meet with Dr. Laura Meyers, a linguist, who was working
with disabled children. We fIrst read of her work in the
January 1984 issue of Smithsonian. And, taking advantage of
opportunity, when she visited Washington that April we had
her demonstrate her work at our April SIG meeting. (See
WAP Journal, May 1984.)
What Dr. Meyers demonstrated was nothing short of amaz
ing; however it wasn't ready for distribution. The fear, as
always, was that something very promising would turn into
"vaporware". Though somewhat slow in getting to the mar
ket, some of Meyers' software is now available. Better yet, it
is less expensive than predicted, due in part to cheaper voice
synthesis (Echo II, by Street Electronics and the Muppet
Learning Keys by Koala Technologies).
We saw the final product demonstrated at the American
Association for the Advancement of Science in November
1985. A videotape of that demonstration is available for
review in the WAP office. Even better, I have received three
of the most imaginatively packaged pieces of educational
software which are part of Meyers' work. They will be
reviewed in next month's issue.
.....
PROGRAMS IN TECHNOLOGY FOR EDUCATORS
It shouldn't surprise anyone that The Johns Hopkins
University would have an abundance of courses on computer
technology. But, among those courses are eight which might
prove of specific interest to teachers in special education:
85.522 Computerized Information and Data Management
in Special Education
85.531 Applications of Microcomputer Technology in
Special EducationlRehabilitation
85.555 Advanced Applications in Special Education!
Rehabilitation
85.558 Computers in Instruction: Supervision and
Organization
75.410 The Role of Technology in Preparing the Special
Needs Student for Tomorrow's World of Work
75.412 Telecommunications and Networking
75.565 Practical Applications of the Apple Adaptive
Firmware Card
75.568 Speech Recognition Workshop in Applied
Techniques
"-'
Mact ntosh- SoftY8re
Accollati~
For further information, contact: Dianne Tobin, Coord
inator, Technology for Educators Program, The Johns
Hopkins University, Room 100. Whitehead Hall, Baltimore.
MD 21218.
Some of these courses are even more convenient for
Washington Area residents since they're held in Columbia,
MD. at the School of Continuing Studies.
@
AFJAP/PR(BPI) t>8.
DoUars &. SeNe
$23:5 118cOne"'ritt> t>8. $165 83 Re~ to P.iches ee. 14 COlDllUlaicati OJlB ASCII Pro
Cornpust>rw Stsrtt>r
SS
Strei~M
26
HsbsDex w/COtntn.
Talk
55 68 D.t.b••• pis: File, Report t>s.
OwrVut> 2.0
86
160
DB Hester 4+
11e~efi.1er
200 120 Edllcatioa Barron's SAT
74
Crestt> w/Garfit>1d
Fontrix 1.5
Speed Readu II
41 Typing Tutor III
Graphics 65 ResdySt>tGo 2.0
Printo~apher
48 42 85 DaViMi:LaMscapes 20 28
Leisllu Kuetaka
24
HHchiker's Gttide
28 tIicrolt>agut> B'ball
28
Spt>l1brt>sker
35 Pro~.IUli~
69
Terrapin LOGO 3.0
Lt>t's Explore Basic
28
11acForth II
Turbo Tt(rUt>
150 42 ~preadshel't
58
Multiplan
pis: Plan
86
Excel
260 HabaCalc N Graph 68 Word Procl'ssi~ 11ouseWrite(req. 11ouse) 86 11S '''ord
Word Perfect 1.0
96 Thit\1: Tenlc 512
132 145 Buy MOUSf WRIT£ for your Apple IIe or IIe
00000000000000000000000000000000
111111 (5.7) Mousewrite (Roger Wag
ner Publishing) - An Apple IIc and lIe
word processor that mimics Macwrite,
Mousewrite offers pull-down menus filled
with easy-to-use features. We strongly
recommend purchasing a mouse in order to
take advantage of this product. Mousewrite
is worth a test drive for home and smallbusiness users. Category: Performance
Software. (11/18/85)
00000000000000000000000000000000
------Lisl price $125 .... Your cost $8(:0 -----
(:opgl'ight. 1986 bog Popular Corn puling Inc: '.' a
subsidiarg cof CV Comrnunicalions Inc:. Reprinled
from lnfi..,r.·'orld, 1060 marsh Road., Suit.e C-200 .
menlo Park, CA 94025
-----.---_..
__ - - --. -..
•......
---
Ask for & copy of our Apple or I-laci ntosh catalog contai ni ng
hundreds of other programs. Also. a~:I:: about our '01(11 ume
discount pri(:€!~: for 10 or more of any (lnt? item.
$3 shi ppi ng and handli ng per order (UP~i. $4). liD residents, add 5% ;:Isles tax. No charge~; (lr COD·s. Price~ :::lJbject to change. Call for item~ nett H:::ted COMPUTER WARE UNLIMITED
P.o. BOX 1247
COLUMBIA, MD 21044
30t/854-2~46
Washington Apple Pi
March 1986
13
THE BEST OF THE APPLE III: Part 2 by
David Ottalini, 11/ SIG Co-Chairman This month, we complete ollr efforts at providing you
with some of the best sources of information, products,
dealers, etc. for our Apple I/I's.
THE BEST NEWSLETTERS/MAGAZINES
Not surprisingly, those groups listed last month also
provide some of the best newsletters for us avid Apple 1/1
users. Both the ATUNC and TAU newsletters are an excellent
source of information. Both newsletters are available in the
WAP library for III SIG members to read. I can also recom
mend News and Views, the newsletter of the Apple Three
Users International group based in Norfolk. This is the publi
cation of Joe Dobrowolski, whose goal is to compile informa
tion from as many III groups as possible and edit it together
on as many tightly-printed pages as possible. I think the
effort is noteworthy, but he attempts to put so much informa
tion into his newsletter that, at times, things tend to flow
together and are hard to follow and digest. But it is kind of
fun trying to wade through it all, just to see what sources Joe
has pulled information from for that particular issue.
As for magazines, there are really only two that I can truly
recommend (besides our own WAP Journal of course). As
many of you guessed, On Three and Frank Moore's Three
Magazine are the selections. With the January issue, On
Three is again publishing on a regular schedule. Val Golding
is its full-time editor. He was hired away from the
A.P.P.L.E. Co-Op and it is obvious in the new January edi
tion that he is working to make the magazine worth subscrib
ing to. After so many dissapointments from the On Three
folks, its refreshing to see it publish on (what is promised to
be) a regular schedule again.
The Three Magazine is the successor to the Three
Newsletter, begun by Frank Moore last year because there
were no general-circulation /1/ publications coming out regu
larly at the time. He promised to deliver his newsletter on
time each week and he kept his word. And with the demise of
the Postal Service's E-COM electronic mail, he decided to go
monthly with a magazine format. Despite some troubles with
the flfSt issue, everything has gone well since, and Frank is
looking at the purchase of a laser printer and other equipment
to bring the print quality up to more professional standards.
I can truthfully recommend either magazine (but would go
with The III Magazine if! had to make a choice). Both have a
good range of articles and are striving to provide additional
tutorials, news and information, programs, etc. Both need
more articles from the /1/ community (so what else is new?)
and On Three tends to push its own products a bit too much.
But both have a lot to offer and are well worth the investment.
On Three Ma~azjne
$40.00/Year
4478 Market St, Suite 701
Ventura, Ca. 93006
The /1/ Magazine
$40.00/Year • CIO Moore Enterprises 3201 Murchison Way 14
Carmichael, Ca. 95608
* (Includes all back issues from current year)
There is one Apple 1/1 magazine-on-disk that I believe is
still available (you can also get disk-of-the-month offerings
from On Three). It's called Three Cheers. Two editions have
come out so far, and despite some intitial hope that there
would be more, it's hard to say when, or if, a third edition
might actually come out (there were rumors this past summer,
but no evidence).
The magazine was originally published by the A.P.P.L.E.
Co-Op but was taken over by a husband and wife team calling
itself "Donovan's Reef." . Their inability to continue regular
pUblication has done them a lot of harm, despite some inter
esting offerings in the flfSt and second editions. This author's
own experience with the magazine is a good example of its
problems. I submitted an article many months ago and have
yet to hear if it's been accepted or not. My gut feeling is not
to bother with a subscription until it can be ascertained the
magazine will be published on its promised quarterly basis.
You should still be able to get individual copies of the origi
nal issues. Write for prices.
/1/ CHEERS
$40.00/Year-Quarterly ClO Donovan's Reef 12513 SE 216TH Kent Wa. 98031 206-630-2343 BEST BOOKS
There are so few books out on the Apple 11/ that I could
get away with listing all of them for you. But I think you are
best served with three specific books, all of which have
Business Basic as their primary subject.
The Osborne/McGraw Hill Guide To Your Applelll is the
first book on the list The other two are by Eddie Adamis:
Basic Keywords for the Apple III and Business Basic for the
Apple III. The Guide covers only the Apple 11/ and not the
plus version. The author is Stanley M. Miastokowski. It's a
good, beginning-level text for new 11/ owners and good to
have for us old fuddy-duddies who've had their machines
around for awhile. It has a good overview of Business Basic
and sections on the .audio and .graphics drivers that are
excellent. Clinton Computer had a large supply the last time
I looked.
The Adamis texts are straightforward, no-nonsense books
that essentially describe Business Basic version 1.1, its key
words and provides examples. The only other III-specific
book on the market is Using Apple Business Computers by
Kenniston Lord Jr. I have it in my library but don't feel it's
worth your money unless you are interested in lengthy
Business Basic programs specifically for business purposes.
All these books are either available at local bookstores or
you can order them.
THE BEST PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE
Now we're back to the point where subjectiveness really
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
comes into play. This list contains some of my choices, but
since this is the good 01' USA, after all, you may certainly
disagree. There really is a lot of good PD software out there.
Much of this is offered by the previously mentioned user
groups or through Frank Moore. Other sources of III-specific
public domain material are various bulletin board systems like
Ill's Company in Richmond, Virginia (804-747-8752) or
MAUG on Compuserve.
This list has no particular order to it I'll let you decide
which is better for your purposes than the rest. I must also let
you know that I have NOT tried all these and made my
selections based on research and the ability of the software to
do a particular and needed job.
Fixer: For those of you with early versions of Catalyst
and need to de-catalyze your original disks.
Jeppson Dissambler: Perhaps his best program. Allows
disassembly of Apple //I memory and disk blocks.
AppleCon: Converts Applesoft basic programs into
Business Basic programs, but only up to a point.
Contemporaneous Usage Log: This Dan Wade pm- gram
is designed for all of us //Iers who use their computers and
need to keep track of the time for Uncle Sam.
Jeppson's Spooler: This little program lets you use your
disk drive as a print buffer, so you do other things while
printing.
Wade's SOS Block Editor: Another Dan Wade offering
that allows the inspection and/or modification of of any block
in a me or on disk. TAU members only.
HelpstufT: Wade's Pascal utility that let you put a
sophisticated on-line help-file and screen dump capability into
your Pascal programs. TAU members only.
Jeppson's Code file Utility: Converts Pascal code files into
transmittable textfiles.
Jeppson's Pascal Patch: Allows the reassignment of the
Pascal System volume to a hard disk. Versions 1.0/1.1 only.
Wade has 1.2 version.
Character Set and Keyboard Layout Editor: Gives you
control of your keyboard.
BEST COMMERCIAL SOEfWARE
Another arena for burning subjectivity, but here goes:
11/ Easy Pieces: Integrated database, word processing and
spreadsheet Ease of use makes this a winner. (Haba Systems)
Catalyst with Discourse Spooler: Program switching
utility for your hard disk. (Quark) Any votes for Selector //I?
Draw On Three: A graphics tool for the III. Can use it to
print foto files made with Business Graphics. (On Three)
Apple Writer or Word Juggler: Take your pick. Word
Juggler has gotten higher marks but Apple Writer with WPL
does the job.
VC Advanced Version: Some say there won't be a better
spreadsheet program, but may only be available through
remainderers.
Omnis 3 Data Base: Has gotten high marks. (D.A.
Datasystems.)
Great Plains or BPI Accounting: I've heard both positive
and negative on these. BPI no longer supports the 11/ version.
Keystone has also gotten good marks for a new program.
Tools Times Three: D.A. Data~ystems great series of
Business Basic tools, including PowerKeys, a macro for the
Washington Apple Pi
III. (On Three's On Time upgrade may give PK a run for its
money.)
Assembler: At this writing, rumored super-fast assem
bler from On Three.
Other Programs:
Access 11/ is a good telecommunications program now
available in interp form through user groups as upgrade.
Directory Labler 11/ allows you to make diskette labels.
(CompuCRAFT, Englewood, CO.)
Post Master looks like an excellent choice for those who
need a sophisticated mail management program. (Source
ware, Littleton, CO.)
And for those with a desire for a tested BBS system, try
Let's Talk from Russ Systems. It's used by Ed Gooding's I/I's
Company BBS in Richmond with good results. Sun Data's
InfoNet has also gotten good marks.
BEST ADD-ONS
Once again, no particular order here. All, however,
deserve consideration for inclusion into your system.
• Cheap hard disk drives (l0120mb) from CMC Computer
Systems.
• 3 112" 800 K unidrive for the III (On Three has the
driver).
• 512 K upgrade for the III (On Three).
• Titan 1I1+2e (make your 11/ a lie to a point) (Titan
Technologies )
• MS-DOS co-processor for the 11/ using PCPI Applicard
and CP/M (D.A. Datasystems).
• lie Mouse Driver and card is also available, but uses in
11/ native mode are very limited (to On Three products).
That should just about do it. I'd like to mention that
much of the older commercial software is many times
available at a substantial discount from local computer stores
or through auctions like the one that Rasmus organization
holds in the DC area. You might also consider contacting the
Association of Independent Microdealers (AIM) for their
catalog of //I product'I.
I must emphasize, however that it's very important that
we continue to support those companies that are keeping the
faith with us by producing new products and services. With
out them, we could not expect to keep the 1/1 going for as
long as we all know it should.
®
March 1986
TYSONS CORNER CENTER'S
Homelnform
Information on Store Names,
Sales, Events, Restaurants,
Theatres, Gifts, Metrobus
Schedules and Much More
15
Q&A
by Bruce
F. Field
Chuck Cronan of Shorewood, WI, wrote to describe a
procedure he used to fix printer problems he was having with
version 1.1 of AppleWorks.
"Having acquired an AppleWorks program and since my
system includes a Grappler+ interface and Panasonic printer, I,
too, was plagued by the cursed '80N' appearing at the upper
left of printed data base and spreadsheet reports. However, I
solved the problem without the help of Apple's modification
program.
"From other sources I discovered that the problem was
only on the STARTUP disk. By brute-force I looked at each
file on STARTUP (the SYS files all load at $2000 or S192
decimal), byte by byte, using a short BASIC program, look
ing for three sequential bytes which spell 'SON'; in decimal
that is 56, 4S, 78. I was lucky that it worked and didn't take
more than a few minutes. If you work from a copy (please!,
not the original) of STARTUP you will find four applicable
bytes:
1. BLOAD APLWORKS.SYSTEM, TSYS, A$2000
Address
EEEK. Character
EQKE
11557
9
ctrl-I
0
11558
56
8
0
11559
48
0
0
11560
78
N
0
2. POKE null characters (decimal zero) in the four
addresses shown. This is the string sent to the printer.
3. BSAVE APLWORKS.SYSTEM, TSYS, A$2000,
L$1DF4
"That's it, it'll work like a charm. Evidently, the Ctrl-I
character acts as a command to my Epson-Iike printer. In my
case, my Panasonic interprets it as its ASCII equivalent,
HT(=TAB). My printer skips eight spaces (default TAB) and
prints the string '80N'. The patch above results in a string of
nulls sent to the printer, resulting in nothing! Other interfacel
printer combinations may require different pokes; experiment,
if necessary, but use copies of the disks."
Thanks for the information, Chuck. However let me
remind everyone that version 1.2 of Appleworks (which is
available from your dealer) has a menu option that allows you
to set the printer startup string to anything or nothing.
Choose (5) Other Activities from the Main menu, and (7)
Specify information about your printer(s). Go through the
procedure for adding a printer until you reach the Add a Printer
menu to specify line feeds, top-of-page, etc. and choose (5)
Interface cards, at which point you can enter whatever startup
string you wish.
Q. I have an Apple Writer /Ie program which makes me ill
due to its printing of mouse characters on the data line at
the top of the screen of my enhanced lie. Where can I
insert a POKE 49166,# or PRINT CHR$(24) to get away
from that alternate character set? Would Apple Writer's
WPL help? I cannot use Applewriter under the present
circumstances - it's too frustrating.
16
A. The problem is slightly more difficult than inserting a
single POKE; however Steven Meuse published a short
BASIC program in NIBBLE magazine, April 19S5, pp. 63
64, that will fix the problem of mouse characters being
displayed on the status line as well as being displayed
when the cursor is over a capital letter. He also modifed it
to permit selection of 40-column text display even when
an SO-column card is plugged in the machine.
Q. My Apple extended SO-column card will provide double
hires only for Revision B or later /Ie's. The SO-column
card manual was copyrighted in 19S2 - my /Ie was
assembled in 1985 (enhanced) but the main board is a Rev.
A. What gives? Can I complain?
A. Good question. For a short time after the introduction of
the /Ie (early 1983) Apple was shipping /Ie's with Rev. A
boards that did not support double-hires graphics. By by
May 1983 they were shipping Rev. B boards and offered
to swap Rev. A boards for Rev. B if you could show that
you had an extended 80-column card (any brand). I suspect
that your Rev. A board may actually be Rev. B in dis
guise. Beg or borrow an extended SO-column card and try
it out. You will either need to program in assembly
language or buy one of the drawing programs that works
with double-hires as Applesoft doesn't support double
hires.
{\
Q. I bought one of the first IIc's from a big Apple-only
retailer because of its "compatibility" with my office
machine, an early /Ie. The salesman didn't know the
meaning of the word, apparently, but after a year of fid
dling and upgrades I finally have the little turkey doing
most of what I want it to do. The dealer sold me
Mousepaint and, somewhat later, the ProDOS Users Kit
for use on both machines. Neither seems to work well on
the lie. He has said they are the right versions, but..
Both programs are based on ProDOS 1.0.1 (dated 1/1/S4)
and specify ][+ or lie computers, but not /lc on the
packaging. I note that the /lc System Utilities uses
ProooS 1.0.2 (dated 2115/S4). Can you teU me if 1.0.1
is a correct ProDOS for the IIc?
A. The latest version of ProDOS as of this writing is 1.1.1
and this fixes several bugs in the previous versions.
Q. How can I instruct Apple Writer II to activate my SO
column firmware in my /Ie? Activation (PR#3) before
booting the disk does not work. I suspect that adding a
statement to the Hello program to activate the fumware on
my 80-column card would allow this. Unfortunately the
program is in binary format under DOS 3.3 and also
includes a control character in the file name. I have tried
adding a new Hello program to initialize the frrmware to
SO-columns then BRUN the frrst Hello program. The
problem is that I cannot rename the binary file.
contd.
March 19S6 Washington Apple Pi
f\
A. There is no simple way to use Apple Writer II in the 80
column mode on your lie. Apple Writer bypasses the
nonnal text output routines and writes text directly to the
screen, thus enabling the 8O-column card before starting
Apple Writer will not work. Some manufacturers of 80
column cards, Videx in particular, offer a pre-boot disk
that modifies Apple Writer II to work with their brand of
80-column card. I don't know of a patch for the lie; one
solution is to upgrade to Apple Writer lie.
As far as modifying file names in the DOS 3.3
directory, a disk zap program that allows you to edit any
sector on the disk, can be used to directly modify the
directory on the disk. The directory starts at track $11 (17
decimal), sector $OF (IS decimal) and contains 7 fllenames
per sector proceeding down to track $11, sector $00. For
the user who does not wish to get hislher hands "dirty"
with such detail, James E. Hopper wrote a program to edit
or delete any fllename in the directory. This program
appeared in CaD-A.P.P.L.E. in Depth, Volume 3, "AD
About DOS", pp. 143-153, and is also available from
A.P.P.L.E. on diskette if typing in assembly language
programs is not your favorite pastime.
Q. On my enhanced lie when I hold down the control key,
closed-apple key, and reset simultaneously the computer
does a diagnostic check of read/write memory. But, does it
also check the memory on the extended 80-column card
plugged into the auxilary slot?
A. Yes, if the card is present it checks the entire memory on
the card. From a disassembly of the flll1lware in the
unenhanced lie it appears that it also checks the extended
8O-column card.
@
------------------------1
COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN
PUBLIC HEALTH USERS GROUP:
Regional Meeting on March 5
Several officers in the newly organized Communications
and Computer Applications in Public Health Users Group
have scheduled a regional meeting of the group on Wednesday,
March 5, 1986, at the main auditorium of the Uniform
Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). The
meeting which will begin at 7:00PM will include an organi
zational session, a software exchange and computer theater for
demonstrations, and an informal gathering for individuals to
meet one another. MS-DOS, CP/M, Apple DOS, and Macin
,-,tosh microcomputers will be available for demonstrations of
public health applications, including statistical packages_ For
further information, contact Dr. Holly Doyoe, (301) 933-8390
after 6:00PM
@.
Washington Apple Pi The Generic PC: Fast Relief for IBM Sticker Shock by Bud Stolker
Here's good news if you're shopping for an IBM PC-compatible compu
ter: you can now buy more machine than you expf:cted to get-for less
money than you expected to pay.
You can, in fact, have your PC custom-tailored to your requirements,
from software right down to the circuit board- and chip-level, at a price
less than that of an off-the-shelf PC. And your machine will be not only
cheaper; it will be better.
I can design for you an IBM PCIXT-compatible that adheres fully to IBM
hardware and software standards, yet enhances those standards in
ways that do not interfere with conventional operation or future expan
sion.
Your generic version ofthe IBM PCIXT will come with each component
individually selected for cost-effectiveness, and tested for performance
and quality. My PC's are better systems dollar-for-dollor than any other
IBM clone you'll find.
And now you can get as much as three megabytes offree programs with
the computerl Included is software for word processing, project, data
base, and spreadsheet management, investment analysis, telecom
munications, graphics for design, charting, and advertising, a Sidekick
like notepad and alarm clock, and even an array of video games. Hard
disk systems have all software properly installed and linked by appro
priate custom help screens.
Prices start at $1240 for a fully warranted, fully supported computer
with 256K RAM, two floppy disk drives, multiple serial and parallel
ports, clock/calendar, monitor, bundled software, and lots of room to
grow with you. Each system is customized to your requirements, and
built to the highest standards. Support includes a system analysis so
you don't buy too much or too little, extensive component testing, inte
gration of a vast array of useful software you can use immediately,
personalized instruction manual, after-sale checkup, and my firm com
mitment to quality and client satisfaction.
Check with me when you're ready for a PC, and let's talk about why a
custom-tailored personal computer is the best buy you can make.
Landmark Computer Laboratories Suite 1506 101 South Whiting Street Alexandria, Virginia 22304 Telephone (703) 370-2242
~
SourceMall TCB076
IBM pc. PClXT. aNI PClAT "" r q I _ tn4ematbollntc_UoaaJ B....... Muhl.... CorponUco Sidekick'"
rqit\.tnd trad.matk o( Borlud InLem.UoDaI
March 1986
17
GAMESIG NEWS
by
Ronald Wartow
Our able columnist, Barry Bedrick, encountered a slight
detour on the physical highway of life this month, so I'm
pinch-hitting. The March meetingwill be on Thursday, March
6 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the office.
NEW SOEJWARE RECEIYED . Reviews next month:
UNDER FIRE! (Avalon Hill for Apple 1/ series with 64K) •
- Critically acclaimed wargame that comes with preset
scenarios or roll your own. Mockingboard optional.
GULF STRIKE (Avalon Hill for Apple 1/ series with
48K) _. Superpower confrontation in the Persian Gulf in this
conversion of a popular board wargame.
FEBRUARY MEETING
Three members were told that they would be featured in an
article to appear in the March issue of Personal Computing
on people across the country who play adventure games. At
the magazine's request, one of the three actually went to New
York, was dressed up as a samurai, and photographed for the
article. Two club members, one a regular GAMESIG
participant, will be beta testing ORBITER, the forthcoming
Spectrum Holobyte release for the Macintosh.
Programs demonstrated included THE HALLEY PRO
JECT (Mindscape) and UNDER FIRE! (Avalon Hill).
CORRECTION
Last month's "short takes" for Apple /I series games was
misleading in that the Infocom and the Blue Chip games are
also available for the Macintosh.
CAYEATS;
ALTERNATE REALITY-The City (Datasoft [actually
HP Software] for the Apple II series and soon for Macintosh)
Members should be advised that this fantasy role-playing
program is not actually a "game." Rather it is a character
builder disk for future scenarios and there is no goal to be
achieved despite the implications on the box. Some of the
program's commands and locations cannot be accessed yet,
including magic. The company advises that the first scenario
will be out in September and you probably will not need this
disk to play the first and subsequent scenarios, although it
may make the scenarios easier to play.
HACKER--Despite the clever beginning, this program
becomes a logic, strategy game where you must acquire
missing pieces of a secret document from spies allover the
world. There seems to be no replay value and the total time
for the game, once you understand the "logon sequence," is
about 20 minutes.
HONOR ROLL
Every extensive GAMESIG Journal review has been on
software donated by the various companies in the industry. In
addition, the Journal is distributed to many software and book·
software stores in the DC area. Several proprietors told me
that customers scour the Journal for reviews before buying
software. Just a few days ago, in a bookstore, I saw the
January Journal issue lying on one of the Apple software
shelves. While we recognize that companies benefit from
exposure (if the review is favorable) to the club's several
18
thousand Apple owners and to area software outlets, this kind
of user group-software producer relationship is a vital and
important part of the information exchange which the club
strives to perpetuate.
Recognizing this, as a "thank you," we now list the 18
companies that have donated gaming software for review since
GAMESIG was revived in December 1984.
AEGIS DEVELOPMENT, AVALON HILL, BLUE
CHIP, BRAINPOWER, BRODERBUND, CRYSTAL
WARE, FIL GAMES, HAYDEN, MINDSCAPE, ORIGIN
SYSTEMS, PBI,
PRYORITY, SIERRA, SILICON
BEACH, SIR-TECH, SPECIRUM HOLOBYTE, SSG, and
TELARIUM.
RECENT RELEASES AND PREVIEWS OF COMING
ATTRACTIONS
FOR APPLE 1/ SERIES:
Towers of Seven (Sierra) _. Fantasy Role-Playing (FRP)
Black Cauldron (Sierra) .- Graphic Adventure like KING'S
QUEST
Championship Boxing (Sierra)
King's Quest II (Sierra)
Phantasie II (SSI) .- FRP
Wizard's Crown (SSI)·. FRP
Ogre (Origin) .- Futuristic strategy "war" game
Ultima IV • Part 2 (Origin) - FRP
Goldfinger (Mindscape)
Sailing (Mindscape)
FOR MACINTOSH:
Flight Simulator (Sublogic)
Orbiter (Spectrum Holobyte)
FOR ALL APPLE COMPUTERS:
Universe II (Omnitrend) -- Strategy space adventure
Pixel's Revenge III - The Delicatessan Closes (Parser ST,
Inc. - Schmaltz
THE HALLEY
PROJECT: A Review
by
Thomas Johnston
Opening the Halley Project (Mindscape, Inc.) package
reveals a Mission Briefing on a cassette tape. "Oh boy,
Mission Impossible," I say to myself as I load the tape player.
"Dumb," I say as I toss the tape over my shoulder and boot up
the disk.
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
"Delta one niner. We are lost behind Jupiter."
My Apple lie emits what sounds exactly like a broken
radio transmission from space. After choosing a name for my
star pilot, Aldebaran, I push the joystick button to blast off
from the Secret Training Installation on Halley's comet My
fU"St mission, "Land on Earth and return safely to Halley's."
The objective of the game is to complete 10 training
missions to qualify for the Final Challange. Each mission
consists of landing on one or more of the planets or moons of
the Solar system. Each successive mission has more and
slightly harder objectives. You are not always told exactly
what your objective is, rather you are given clues like: "Land
on any planet smaller and always colder than Earth," or "Land
on any moon with an atmosphere," (the hardest clue). This is
where the education aspect is supposed to come in. The Mis
sion Technical Reference Guide advises consulting your local
library of antiquated, paper, mass storage devices to find books
on the solar system. That's right, there's no educational docu
mentation in the package. You must hustle it up yourself.
Actually an almanac and some guesswork is probably
sufficient
Navigating around the solar system consists of consulting
a radar screen and pointing yourself in the right direction by
following the stars. (Radar in computer gaming has come to
mean a view of what's happening around you; that is probably
not possible in the real world, but is essential to the
playability of the game.) This radar is a top view of the solar
system, giving your approximate distance to your objective,
and its direction in relation to the surrounding background
stars. A simple star chart is included to help you recognize
some of the constellations.
So I point myself in the direction of Sagittarius and
accelerate into hyperspace. Yeeooww, and what an obnox
ious hyperspace. My console flashes like a runaway strobe
light After several trips in this I fmd that I must hold my
hand in front of my eyes to stand it. (Bad for epileptics.)
Except that I have to look to read the distance traveled to
know when to brake.
Actually, approaching the planets is the best part of the
game. The programmers have created a working model of the
solar system with the nine planets and most of their moons
orbiting the sun. Although due to programming limitations
the planets and moons are only black and white orbs with no
detail (no spots, no rings) it is still quite fun to chase the
moons around the larger planet, orbiting around to the dark
side looking for the landing area.
Then the landing. To try to make up for the monochrome
planets upon landing, we're offered a view out the window of
the planet's surface. Here is the opportunity for the game to
reward you with Ohh Ahh dazzling pictures for your efforts.
Instead the graphics are unneccessarily crude. Worse, they are
not well researched. Venus, for example, shows stars in the
sky over the horizon. Venus is actually always totally cov
ered by clouds. The surface is only now being mapped by
radar.
The designers apparently did not consult the library
enough themselves. The star chart even has its problems. It
was apparently copied from a distorted flat map. The star
positions are stretched out of their proper relationships. Leo,
and Sagittarius, which are easy to recognize in the night sky
Washington Apple Pi
are unrecognizable on the star chart. Don't try to use this
chart to find Halley's.
Upon completing the 10 training missions I was assigned
a secret number and told to send it to Mindscape, Inc. for
instructions for an 11 th mission, the Final Challenge, which
should arrive in four or five weeks. The good news for those
of you who bought the program, the original deadline of
December 31, 1985 has been extended to June 30, 1986.
Probably because of my familiarity with astronomy (I did
see Halley's comet) I finished the game in one night and a day.
After this there is nothing left to do. The educational value of
the Halley Project is minimal. Buy a good book from
National Geographic if you want to learn about the planets.
As a game, the playability is spoiled by crude graphics and
somewhat ruined by the obnoxious hyperspace. This is a
shame because the basic program is quite good. To an
excellent model of the solar system they have added nothing
else of quality to bring life to the game.
By the way, you don't learn anything about Halley's
comel
@
AUTODUEL: A Review by
David Granite
Much like the movie The Road Warrior', AUTODUEL is
set in a post-catastrophe U.S.A. Only the cities on the East
coast have survived and these cities are separated from one
another by an outlaw-infested wilderness. Your assignment,
should you choose to accept it, is to courier packages through
the outlaws and/or hunt the outlaws down. You can also
undertake the national sport, AUTODUELING, where you and
your armored, be-weaponed car compete against others in the
arena.
As the game begins, you create your driver with specified
amounts of driving skill, marksmanship, and mechanical
ability. You must drive well to control your car, shoot well to
get the enemy before they do you in, and be apt mechanically
to obtain good salvage from the wreckage of your late foes.
As an amateur chiver with no car, you can enter amateur night
at the arena. They provide you a car. In it, you fight 5
antagonists, similarly equipped. If you win, you advance in
driving, marksmanship, mechanical ability and prestige. If
you lose, you are dead meat You should start with good
driving and marksmanship and no mechanical ability since
you can go to mechanic school easily to increase your salvage
skills.
Besides an ARENA in the cities, other buildings include
some combination of TRUCK STOP (for rest, body armor,
etc.), SALVAGE YARD (for selling found salvage), AMER
ICAN AUTODUELING ASSOCIATION (for courier assign
ments), GOLD CROSS (for healing and cloning--a clever save
game feature), GARAGE (for car repairs), JOE'S BAR (for
rumors), and ASSEMBLY PLANT (for constructing your
personal killer-car). Some cities will have extra buildings.
e.g.• F.B.I., PET SHOP, CASINO (you should visit to play
poker). You can also go to Manchester, NH, to visit Origin
Systems, the creators of the game.
contd. on pg 23
March 1986
19
APPLE II DESKTOP PUBLISHING - JANUARY 25 by
Richard Rowell
The January meeting of the Apple /I group included a
demonstration of the type of Desktop Publishing that can be
done on these machines, and featured three software packages
that allow the novice to produce excellent graphics-enhanced
printed copy. Under the guidance of three WAP expens each
of these programs was shown to produce flash, pizzaz and
imaginative printed pages.
We approached Desktop Publishing as the procedure for
getting an Apple H, /Ie, or I/c to format a printed page,
including font (type style) variation and graphic enhancement,
in a quick, easy, inexpensive manner. Perhaps a dozen com
mercially available programs support this approach, but three
seem to exemplify it: The Print Shop, The Newsroom, and
Fontrix. With these three and your favorite word processor
you can get started turning out your own flyers and
newsletters in no time at all.
\'~x
AT THE PRINT SHOP Gary Hayman demonstrated lbe Print Shop - an easy to
use, menu driven program published by Broderbund. Gary led
us on a tour through The Print Shop's menus for signs,
banners, and greeting cards, including samples of the disk
based fonts, borders and graphics. He also detailed The Print
S~op Companion (by Broderbund) and The Print Shop
Apprentice (included on WAP Disk #172). Gary has worked
long and hard to assemble an excellent collection of Print
Shop graphics on this same disk - a bargain at $5.00 for a two
sided disk. With the quantity of public domain graphics
appearing for Print Shop and with the number of additional
utilities like the ones made available by Gary, this program is
fast becoming a printing system.
Kim Brennan demonstrated Fontrix, the most difficult to
master as well as the most powerful and versatile program we
considered. Fontrix is published by Data Transforms. The
program disk allows for the creation of extended screen
graphics (known to Fontrix as "graffiles") and intricate
manipulation of fonts, including but not limited to,
adjustment of spaces between characters, overlay or transparent
mode, normal or inverse, and creation of windows.
The program disk contains eleven fonlS, but this is only
20
the beginning as Data Transforms also publishes FontPaks
with thirteen disks currently available. Since many of the
"fonts" are actually signs, symbols and icons graphic layouts
can be readily designed with Fontrix. Kim's examples were
so intricately detailed as to appear to have been generated on a
MacIntosh.
Lee Raesly ran The Newsroom through its tricks. This
two-disk program published by Springboard includes a
primitive word processor and a photo lab for editing, altering,
flipping and fme-tuning the hundreds of built in Clip Art
photos. An additional Clip Art disk adds hundreds more
pictures, and The Graphics Expander (also by Springboard)
eonvens all of these Clip Art photos to a format usable by
The Print Shop. Lee ran through a demo of the menu driven
features of The Newsroom with his red plumed battle flag
waving in the background
The Newsroom uses a newspaper/journalism approach to
printed eopy with a photo lab, a copy desk, a layout desk, a
printing press and a wire service. Five fonts are available
three large and two small. The text will word wrap around
the photos as six, eight or ten panels are created to produce a
two column newsletter. Be forewarned that The Newsroom
text is actually hi-res graphics and the printed quality is a little
..., well, nevermind, the photos are easy to create and the
program allows quick, easy, inexpensive newsletter
production.
I would recommend any and all of these three programs for
your use if you want to get started on sign and flyer
production or on rolling out your own newsletter. The three
presenters made everything look straightforward and easy as
they have invested untold hours in honing their own skills,
but don't worry, the publishers seem to have had the rest of us
thumb-thunking klunkers in mind and all three programs truly
are easy to use. (Well, let me reconsider Fontrix - it can keep
you up late into the night).
One final warning on this kind of Desktop Publishing:
stockpile your supplies. The Newsroom loves to gobble up
data disks, Fontrix will always be sending you off to buy one
more FontPak, and The Print Shop assumes that you have a
warehouse of printer ribbons.
Questions on the software described above? Want to
eonld. on pg 24
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
Operant Systems HARDWARE - -
DOHfAmIX PRIHTERSEplan FX-85 1160 CPI, 82 cps NLQ .adel ................. S69 FX-2116 1200 CPI wide carriage upgrade of FX-IB5I. 549 LX-80 1100 CPI, 16 cps NLQ .odel ...............•. 249 LQ-1500 1200 cps, fantastic leuer-quality .odel. 899 LQ-I000/lQ-BOO (quality of LQ-1500 for less 'I (callI
Okidata 192 (160 cps replacel8nt for Oki 921 ........... 359 193 (132 colu.n version of abovel .............. 519 Toshiba 1340 11411 cps draH, BEST letter-qual ntrix I .. 459 351 (2BB cps, wide carriage version of abovel. 1149 Texas 1nstrulents T1-855 (150 cps draft, 35 cps NLQI ... 585 NEC P2/P3/P5 Pinwriter (lB &2~ wire hi-qual .atrixl (callI
Citizen HSP 20 (200 cps .atrix, Epson-colpatiblel ...... 3~9 Panasonie 1091 (120 cps, Eplon co.patiblel .......•..... 259 DAISYIHa SUlSER PRIHTERS-
Epson DX-S5 195 cps daisywheel, Diablo cOlpatiblol ..... 675 Citizen Prelier 85 185 cps, fastest for the .oneyl ...•. ~
Canon Laser Printer 18 pages/.in, Diablo co.patiblel .. 2095 Silver-Reed 800 I~O cps, Oiablo-co.patiblel ..•......... 695 550 119 cps daisywheel, wide carriagel ..... 419 NEC Elf 116 CPI, par &ser interface, NEC/oiablo e.ull. 439 8830 ISS cps daisywheel, built like a tankl ....... 1999 Diablo 690 API 140 cps daisywheell .................... 1549 Quae LetterPro 20 120 cps daisywheell ........•......... 429 HODEHS-
Havel Hicroladel ][e Itone dialing/speaker/S.artco. II. 145 S.artlodel2400 12400/1200/900 baud, RS-2321 ..... 599 Slartiode. 1200 11200 baud, RS-292 , auto-diall ... 989 S.artlode. aDO 1300 baud, as abovel .............. 145 Novation Appl~t II Iw/ COlware; 1200 baud capllblel .. 199 Prometheus Pro.odel 1200 1300/1200 baud, AS-2321 ....... 2B9 Pro.odel 1200A 1300/1200 card w/ softwarel .. 289 Microco. ERA 2 1300/1200 baud card with softwarel ...... 345 ZoolKadel ][e 1300 baud Microladel cOlpat w/softwarel .. 125 US Robotics Password 1300/1200 baud, auto-dial/answerl. 229 Courier 2400 12~00/1200/300, autodial/ansl. 439 Anchor Autolation Express 1300/1200 loaded w/ featuresl 249 Volks.ode. 12 1300/1200 baud, RS-232 I 199 DISK DRIVES-
HieroSci A2 drive liDOS Apple-colpatiblel .............. 169 A.S lhalf-height, 100S Apple cOlpatiblel ...... 169 A.5e Ihalf-height for Apple ltcl .............. 179 Corvus Winchester drives ............................ (callI
CP/M &6502C SYSTEMS
Applic:ard 16 Hhz HIO, 64K to 192K ANt, 70-col videol.. 125 Hicrosoft Softcard l[e IZ-80, 80 col , 64K an one cardl 265 Softcard II lincludes CP/H 2.2 and HBASICI ... 239 Titan Accelerator ]tE 19.6 Hhz 6502C caprocessorl ...... 229 Speed Delon 16502C high-speed coprocessorl ............. 195 Applied Engineering Z-RIlI 1256K, CP/H, RIlIdisk for ltcl 325 HONITORSA.dek SOOG/30DA 112" green/uber anti-glare, IB11hzl.1251139 NEC JB-1201/1205 IgreeD/a.ber anti-glare screen, 20Hhz) 145 .JB-1260 112" green, 15Hhz, best value for lonelll .... 99 USI PI-2 112" green anti-glare screen, 20 Hhll......... 125 PI-3 112" uber anti-glare screen, 20 Khzl ......... 125 - - SOFTWARE
WORD PAOCESSINGWords tar S.S (includes 61hz Z-SO Applicardl ....... 149 Ward Perfect (BEST IBH prag now avail (or lee/cl .... 95 Banl Street Writer or Speller ....................... 45 pfs: Wri te ]ee ..................................... 79 ScreenWriter II 140/70/80-col displall w/spellerl .... as HOlaWord / HOleWord Speller ...................... 49/35
Sensible Speller IV 1005 Dr PROOOS versions availl .. 79 The Word Plus (super spelling checker (Dr CP/HI .... 109 SPAEAD5HEETS
Hultiplan Istate-of-the-art spreadsheetl .•.......... 70 SuperCalc Sa Igpreadsheet &graphics for the lee/c) 135 INFOAHATIOO twW:EHENT
dBASE II Ithe best Apple database, requires CP/HI .. 289 pfl: File, Report, or Graph ......................... 79 The General Hanager 2.0 ............................ 149 Thinktank (electronic thought organizer) ............ 95 DB Haster 4+ (latest versionl ...................... 185 BUSINESS' ACCOIM'INC-
Dollars' Sense (accounting w/graphics) ........ 69 &79 Hanaging Your Haney (accounting + investlent Igltl. 115 Peachtree Back to Basics Accounting (CL/AR/API ..... 115 BPI Accounting (GL/AR/AP/PAY/INVENTORYI ........ each 245 ~ICATIOHS-
Ascii Express Professional (best DOS/PROOOS prograa) 80 Z-tarl Professional (for CP/HI ...................... 90 COlpuServe Starter Kit (password' 5 free hoursl .... 25 0005 & E}lDS-
Print Shop/Print Shop COlpanion ................. .. 36/29
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KoalaPad Graphics Tablet Iwith graphics software) .. 65 H
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March 1986
21
HERE COMES DESKTOP PUBLISHING by
Martin Kuhn
[Note on the author: A new member (#8020), long a journalist,
editor and photographer on the Washington scene, a lie owner, finally
motivated to join Washington Apple Pi because of intriguing but
scattered press reports about doing your own typesetting on a
personal computer, amazed and astonished to learn that the topic of
his flI'St meeting was going to be~f all things--desktop publishing!
His account, mainly on the Mac with the LaserWriter, follows.]
"Desktop publishing," a personal computer applications
area so new, and so hot that some corporations are stamping
"secret" on their memos about it, broke into the open Satur
day (January 25) before approximately 500 attendees of the
Washington Apple Pi regular monthly meeting.
Apple, according to the business press, and statements of
Apple executives as well, is looking to desktop publishing to
provide the entry to the business market long sought for the
Macintosh. Among corporate number-crunchers, IBM is
already there. But if the corporate spreadsheets have IBM's
flag on them, corporate publication departments represent a
new emerging market. Word processing has paved the way;
the next big step might be called "page processing," which
includes in-house typesetting.
The LaserWriter has been called Apple's secret weapon.
Incorporating, in its own computer software, actual printers'
type, in typefaces publications people know and specify by
narne, the LaserWriter for the rust time permits persons run
ning a small publishing operation within an organization to
set their own type, when they need it and exactly as they want
it. They can handle it on the screen until they get it right--and
play "what if' games with typography and design--and then
produce it in camera-ready form with very acceptable quality,
without going to-or paying foro-an outside supplier.
And it's all possible at a price even an individual might be
able to afford. The cost today, in round numbers, going in
from zero, is generally put at $10K. That's for a Mac, a
LaserWriter, and some software, plus the usual odds and ends
and sales taxes. But there are a lot of Macs already out there,
and do you really need your very own LaserWriter? There are
reports of copy shops and quick printers in California (where
trends begin) installing Macs .md LaserWriters to run off
people's pages for prices like 30 cents each. If you have a
Mac, and can get to a LaserWriter for your camera-ready copy
when you finally need it, maybl! all you need is PageMaker.
Or ReadySetGo. Or MacPublisher. Or even just MacWrite
and MacPaint (attractive work was shown at the January
meeting by Paul Funk, using only these basic tools).
How Be It Resolved? The monthly meeting featured
sessions on using personal computers to replace type houses
or print shops, based on software and printers available for the
Apple II and Macintosh. Apple II applications remain limited
by low resolution and a lack of a passably typeset look,
although a Synergistics program was reported by Leon Raesly
that allows use of Apple Writer as a utility for using the
LaserWriter. (Ed. Note: More on this in later issues of the
WAP Journal.) But the Macintosh with a Apple LaserWriter
22
and full page makeup software makes a formidable combina
tion. This account focuses mainly on the Mac-LaserWriter
part of the meeting program, not least because of its promise
for opening the small-to-medium organizational market. This
can provide Apple with a broader business base, and I hold
that anything that makes Apple a stronger "computer com
pany for everyone else" will benefit us all.
I could imagine having real fun with a /Ie and the
programs like Print Shop shown during the morning session
had I not stood long ago in front of a California Job Case
with a composing stick in my hand and learned to set real
metal type. As a child I had a little printing press with rubber
type, but that was only ok until the real thing carne along.
Being able to produce real type is how one can distinguish
between just having fun and having a professionally useful
system, and it can be now be reported that the gap between the
hack "type" styles in much of the personal computer software
and the quality type available from a commercial typehouse
has been bridged by the Apple LaserWriter. Unlike much of
the earlier software, with cutsey "font" names not known in
the real world of publishing, the LaserWriter came with two
genuine typefaces built in--Helvetica, the most popular sans
serif face, and a modem roman text type called "Times," which
is clearly "Times Roman," probably the most popular serif
type (serifs are the little ears and feet on the letters).
Apple's new version of the LaserWriter, announced in mid
January and called the LaserWriter Plus, has five more
commercial faces built in (ITC or Linotype), plus a collection
of small ornaments, traditionally called dingbats by typo
graphers. These dingbats were created by Hermann Zapf, a
contemporary type designer who has also given us Palatino
and Chancery Italic, two of the other faces that are also
included in the new LaserWriter Plus package.
Typesetting an Example. The most-often-cited program in
recent news reports about desktop publishing is PageMaker
(by Aldus), about $450 retail. PageMaker was discussed by
Bernie Urban, Who, with his wife Gena, has been producing
the WAP Journal using PageMaker and the LaserWriter.
Aldus has been using the Journal as an example of what can
be done. At a session just before the main set of desktop
publishing demonstrations using the Mac, Bernie gave a run
through of how the Journal is produced, using these new
tools, on a very tight one-month cycle.
Other programs with attractive features demonstrated at the
meeting included ReadySetGo (by Manhattan Graphics),
shown by Jim Graham, $125 retail ($55-$65 mail order); and
MacPublisher II (Boston Software Publishers), $150 retail,
demonstrated by David Morganstein. MacPublisher will
handle 96-page documents, and will run on a 128K Mac, with
an automatic save feature, said to be unusual in personal
computer software. Leon Moore demonstrated Microsoft's
Word, using the Imagewriter to produce page proof and the
LaserWriter for final type. Hands-on experience with at least
two programs, it would seem, would be necessary at this
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
point to determine which might be best for a given
application.
What's coming? Bernie Urban reported hopes of taking
better advantage of the page makeup capability when a new
llxl7 inch monitor becomes available. But PageMaker's
current 16-page limit - unless removed - will still be a
hindrance for a publication of the Journal's size (72 pages,
plus cover, for the January issue).
Persons not yet using real typesetting will be pleased at
the greatly improved appearance of their material as produced
by the LaserWriter. But those who are already working with
real type will need to be convinced that the LaserWriter is
good enough. I predict that that side-by-side comparisons will
show that the LaserWriter yields a typeset look of quality
excellent enough for most work that is to be published at the
scale contemplated here. Pages can be produced camera-ready
for either electrostatic (Xerox) or offset reproduction.
Upping the Ante. Actual digitally typeset pages, produced
from the Mac files by Linotronic typesetters ($30,000 each
and upwards) set for high-resolution work (up to 2,400 dots
per inch) will be superb but somewhat costly. Linotronix
computation time, as well as printout time, can be
considerable, noted Jay Condren, who discussed interfacing
with professional typesetting equipment. Raster-scan infor
mation from the Apple must be convened to the vector
graphics form for compositional computation, and then
reconverted to the Linottonic's high-resolution raster scan for
fmal film or paper exposure. (I think I have this right.)
Depending on the number of image elements to be manip
ulated, the processing time per page can run to tens of
minutes on expensive equipment, and printout time adds more
minutes to that. It is not to be expected that much digital
typesetting of this son will be used except for the most crit
ical applications.
All of the software for the Mac demonsttated at the
meeting could be used to produce a small newsletter of good
quality with a professional look. Larger productions, such as
Apple Pi's own Journal, appear to need larger displays and
adequate page capacity without excessive disk-swapping. If
full page makeup is needed, and if it becomes at all
complicated (in terms of incorporating many pieces of an or
graphic elements) faster routines will also be needed. But the
technology is here now, in a very useful form, and, for many,
at a very atttactive price. And it should be noted that the
LaserWriter works just fine for generating type in single
column widths for conventional pasteup techniques.
A market restraint may be the lack of appreciation and
know-how among people who have never learned to use real
type professionally. Users of real type--editors, designers,
printers--have had 500 years to make almost every possible
stylistic mistake and to learn from each other's successes as
well as failures. The Soo-year history of movable type has
resulted in the development of printing conventions that,
when honored, give us pages that not only delight and entice
the eye but work so well the reader need not even notice.
(An example of one such convention is that underlining
words in copy means italics are to be used for the type. Metal
type technology did not permit underlines to be inserted under
individual words without knocking the whole line cockeyed,
and the letter forms of real type were designed so that lines of
Washington Apple Pi
type, with descenders, would lie too tightly together vertically
to take underlines without looking cramped.)
For many, moving to desktop publishing will mean
learning new rules, new skills, new standards, and a new
vocabulary--keming, killing widows, rivers of white,
letterspacing, leading, picas and points, ems and ens--and
delevoping design talents not needed as long as copy can just
be "sent to the printer for them to do." A few may not like it.
But many others are about to discover a fascinatingly creative
field.
@
AutoDuel contd. from pg 19
Constructing your car in the assembly plant is crucial.
You can try for speed, killing power, protection, or all 3. A
really tough baby can cost a lot, so be sure you have enough
cash. The vehicles range from sub-compact to van with com
mensurate space and carrying power. You have choices in
body frame, shock absorbers, armor, power plant and tires.
(Hint: undercarriage armor is pretty useless and just weighs
you down). Never drive your old car into the assembly plant,
as it will be taken from you; park it in the garage--you may
need it again.
Weapons for your car range from the ever-handy machine
gun to lazers front and back. It's also nice to be able to oil
slick or smoke screen pursuers. Then again, you may just let
them get close to blast them with the flame thrower or lay
mines in their path. My last car, >LAZERBREATH<, a
modified Dodge RAM pick-up truck with super power plant,
extra-heavy shocks, steel-plated armor, solid tires, and a Dolby
stereo system, had many of these weapons.
This game is an excellent meld of arcade and strategy. As
you gain in skill and prestige, you are offered more lucrative
(and dangerous) courier assignments. As you complete the
assignments, you get more clues about the end game. Con
versely, or at the same time, you can enter arena contests in
various categories, depending on the price of your vehicle.
(Hint: make your car's value just up to but not over a cate
gory, so that you are the best equipped in the arena.)
This game is engrossing, and can be played over and over
for different goals. While this game cannot, of couse, com
pare with PIXEL'S REVENGE, I do give it a 9 (out of 10)
rating.
@
r
~
ALL HOURS CONSULTANTS
CHECK OUR HARDWARE AND SOF'IWARE PRICES
MONITORS, MODEMS, PRINTERS AND BOARDS
***********PRINTER SPECIALS***********
Citizen (1200 $229.00) (MSP10 $329)
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*OISK SPECIAL* BOX NASHUA lOIS $8.75
ALL ITEMS ADO 5% MD SALES TAX.
CALL ALL HOURS 236-4004
March 1986
23
DPub SIG
byJ
Condren
The Desktop Publishing SIG, Washington Apple Pi's
newest Special Interest Group, met for the flfSt time on
Saturday, February 8 at the Pi office. Future meetings for the
new SIG will be on every second Saturday of the month, from
noon to two, at the Pi office in Bethesda. Everyone is
welcome to join, not just Mac owners, and we would especial
ly like to see some Apple ][ owners, as well as anybody who
can program in PostScript. The SIG has also started a "OPub
BBS" within the WAP board. Mark Walter is the SYSOP.
During the past year, the hot new buzz-word has been
"desktop publishing"; yet a clear definition is hard to find
For the past year, I have helped several government manage
ment companies to produce contract bids with the Macintosh.
All five major competitive bids for which I was under contract
resulted in awards. This work involved the Macintosh and
LaserWriter, many new graphic software applications, and
high-end output devices such as Allied Linotype's Series 100
typesetting machines. While most people think of desktop
publishing as a watered down, cheaper version of standard pub
lishing, it is really a new industry of its own, growing from
the roots of three previously separate industries: microcom
puters, typesetting, and the line-board artist. Without a
working comprehension of all three arenas, it is impossible to
fully understand desktop publishing as it is evolving.
Most of us are already familiar with the capabilities and
limitations of computers; for many, however, graphic board
art and typesetting are somewhat foreign. This will be one of
the areas which we hope to address at the SIG's meetings, on
our BBS and in this column. We will examine new software
and hardware, keeping up with all new developments, as better
page-layout and graphic programs become available, and as
faster printers with higher resolutions are marketed. We also
want to help everybody take advantage of the possibilities of
desktop publishing, and will try to solve any problems people
are confronted with.
Our first meeting was a rather informal get-acquainted ses
sion during which we discussed the many items presented
below. Future meetings will be more structured, and we will
generally have a specific topic planned in advance. However,
at this meeting, we were able to talk about a lot of topics,
which strengthened my belief that desktop publishing is a
large field and not just limited to newsletters and fliers but
also the Fortune 500 business market, as witnessed by USA
Today's use of the Macintosh for the graphics in the paper,
and government management companies developing the use of
graphics in proposals for multi-million dollar government
contracts.
We saw some vivid examples of what the LaserWriter and
MacDraw are capable of, and compared these drawings as
printed on both the La~erWriter and the Linotronic 100, a
typesetting machine from Allied Linotype which prints with a
resolution of up to 1270 dots per inch (dpi). Allied now has
two machines, the 100 and the Linotronic 300 (which has a
maximum resolution of 2540 dpi), which, with the help of a
24
PostScript Raster Image Processor (RIP), can be connected to
the AppleTalk LAN and print documents as easily as the
LaserWriter can.
Also discussed were some differences between using a
Macintosh-based system and Kodak's Ektaprint Electronic
Publishing System (KEEPS). Kodak's laser printer, like the
LaserWriter, has a resolution of 300 dpi. It uses a three
button mouse and the monitor is 19 inches across, but other
wise resembles the Macintosh (black on white screen, with
icons, pop-up menus, and windows). It also comes with a
hard drive and a full-page scanner. However, a single-user
system costs $79,500, while a Macintosh, LaserWriter, hard
disk and ThunderScan cost only about $7,500. We compared
several line drawings that were scanned and then printed on
both systems and found the output from the ThunderScan
LaserWriter system to be better than the output from KEEPS.
Unlike the Macintosh system, KEEPS has a maximum reso
lution of 300 dpi; Kodak decided not to market any typeset
quality output device.
Two new text programs were also discussed Type/Net,
from Type/Setting NeVWork, Inc., lets the Macintosh emu
late the internal codes which drive any of Allied Linotype's
machines, obviating the immediate need for typesetting firms
to buy a newer PostScript-compatible machine, and also
giving them the ability to develop documents at separate
locations and print them with one machine.
The second program is lustText, from Knowledge Engi
neering, which is a very powerful page composition program.
The programmer, Bill Bates, explains in the documentation
that Apple's QuickDraw to PostScript conversion routines
(the LaserPrep file, which is downloaded the flfSt time you
print after turning on the LaserWriter) were very limiting.
lustText, therefore, generates its output directly into Post
Script This allows the user to take advantage of all the
LaserWriter's many powerful effects which so far have gone
unused. Included in version LOg of lustText is kerning,
automatic hyphenation, a background spelling checker, full
control over justification tightness, leading, and page layout
He also is working on several other programs, including
LaserPaint, which will allow MacPaint-like documents to be
produced for the LaserWriter's 300 dpi resolution, giving you
full control over every LaserWriter dot, and LaserDraw, an
object oriented graphics program optimized for PostScript and
the LaserWriter.
Our next meeting will be on March 8th at the WAP office
from noon to two. We hope to see you all there.
~
Apple /I Desktop contd. from pg 20
complain about what a "-" produces from ICONS on FontPak
#2? Need advice on Apple desktop publishing? Call any of
the presenters, or call me at 231-9086. (Ed. Note: See also
the calendar reference to the Desktop Publishing SIG and the
new BBS on System 3, 986-4715.)
~
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
LAP COMPUTERS AS APPLE ACCESSORIES '-'
Part 4: Build Yourself a Serial Interface Switch box
by George Kinal In this installment. I want to continue along the lines I
followed in the January issue, applying the "Quick and Dirty"
interfacing principle to construct a serial peripheral switching
box (one of the peripherals being, of course, your lap com
puter).
First, a correction and an apology. In that article, I said
that the lap computer does not need or care about the hand
shake leads. That is simply not true! The RS-232 connector
which plugs into the lap computer should also get the "Quick
and Dirty" handshake treatment. that is, tie pins 4,5,6,8, and
20 all together (see also October WAP article by Nancy
Harvey). The lap computer needs its Clear to Send (pin 5)
activated in order to transmit data. The original advice to make
both ends of a computer-to-computer cable the same thus is
worth following.
Now, suppose you have acquired several peripherals with
serial interfaces, e.g. a modem, a printer, the lap computer,
maybe a plotter, etc. Even with a Mac or a IIc, you may have
more peripherals than serial ports on your Apple. The worst
case of course is when you have a lie with only one serial
interface card, most likely a Super Serial card (SSC). After a
while, it gets pretty tedious swapping cables. And Apple
would have you believe that to change from the printer to a
modem demands that you turn around the jumper block plug
on the card!
Aha, say all those accessory vendors. Noooo problem....
Just buy one of these handy dandy RS-232 switch boxes. It
used to be that people wanted $150 for these gadgets, though
if you look through the Computer Shopper you'll see places
selling them now for as little as $40 (for a two way switch).
I suppose that's a not unreasonable price for a switch that
switches ALL 25 lines ..... But we've all been paying attention
to the Quick and Dirty principle, haven't we, class? And so
we know that for most serial interface applications, only a few
wires are necessary. (Besides, if the IIc can get away with
only 5 pins on its serial connector, why should the /Ie need
25?). Come on, you say, where did we say anything about
why a switch only needs 3 or 4 poles to do RS-232 transfer?
Well, it's part of the Quick and Dirty principle: whenever pos
sible, satisfy handshaking requirements ON THE END OF
THE CABLE, AT THE CONNECTOR.
If you have a modem, and you don't need unattended auto
answer operation, only three wires are needed to actually
connect it to the computer: data sent, data received, and a
common ground. Likewise for the lap computer. A printer is
the only exception: it needs to connect its "printer busy"
handshake (usually pin 19,20, or 6 - see your printer manual)
to an appropriate handshake sensing pin on the serial interface.
All ground wires can be connected together, so no switching
is needed there. So, for most applications, a switch with only
three poles is needed (if you want to switch the computer's
handshake output as well, you'll need four poles: four plus the
unswitched ground equals the IIc's five wires).
Washington Apple Pi
You won't fmd three pole switches at Radio Shack any
more, though they are pretty common from commercial
electronics suppliers and surplus. Here, another principle of
the RS-232 interface will save the day - the one that says you
can't do any harm by interconnecting, mis-connecting, or
shorting various RS-232 leads. This principle will let you
use two Radio Shack double pole switches (part # 275-1386),
and yet it won't do any harm if you don't turn both knobs
simultaneously. Use one switch for the data wires, the other
for handshake(s).
Now wire the switches to the appropriate connectors. The
Table below shows the data and busy handshake pin numbers
for various Apples. As an illustration, the diagram shows a
switchbox arrangement for three common serial peripherals
and an Apple SSC. With the Table and the material in the
January article, plus the documentation for your printer, it
should be straightforward to design the equivalent for a IIc, a
Mac, and for other types of peripherals. Notice that on each
peripheral connector, "Quick and Dirty" handshake strapping
has been applied to keep each peripheral happy, except of
course for the printer busy lead. The printer assumed here is
an AJ -831, modified so that a busy signal appears on pin 20.
(Note: because of the potential ambiguity of the busy
handshake when the SSC jumper is in the "Terminal" posi
tion, I suggest you use the "Modem" position instead. The
wiring in the switch box itself will take care of the "null
modem" crossover.)
TABLE: KEY PIN CONNECTIONS
ON APPLE COMPUTERS
Signal
Apple SSC
Apple SSC
Apple /lc Mac
Jumper Block Jumper Block
in "MQOEM" in "e8TNTE8"
Data In
3
Data Out
2
Busy Handshake
(Low,," busy) 5
Signal Ground 7
2
3
4
2
9
2
19 or 20
7
5
3
7
3
Notes to Table:
1 - Pin 8 my be used in lieu of pin 5 for busy handshake.
The SSC actually does not require the Quick and Dirty
strapping shown here.
2 - Most modems do not require the Quick and Dirty
sttapping shown here.
3 - There is no standard as to the "printer busy" pin. 5, 6,
19, or 20 might be used. Strap all other handshake pins
together as shown.
With a switch box like this, and a male DB-25 connector
available for the lap computer, the kinds of data exchanges I've
written about in this series are easily accomplished on short
notice, without lots of cable swapping, lifting the Apple {I
contd. on pg 31
March 1986
25
ELECTRONIC STOCK TRADING AND RECORD
MAINTENANCE:
A Preliminary Review of Schwab's "The Equalizer"TM and Alternatives
by George
Kinal
INTRODUCTION
The collection and analysis of security prices and trading
data, and the maintenance of records of your own trading activ
ity, are "natural" applications for your Apple's computational,
data base management, and telecommunicating capabilities.
In fact, it is the computer's ability to perform all three kinds
of activities that make it so powerful a tool. A program that
"integrates" these functions is especially interesting. After
all, you can obtain stock prices from the newspaper, plot price
trends by hand, and keep manual (paper, flling cabinet)
records. Charles Schwab & Company's "The Equalizer",
however, does all this for you, automatically and electron
ically.
I gave a brief presentation at the October WAP meeting of
the capabilities of this software package, and promised a more
extensive review. Although my review is not yet complete,
due to a disk quality problem that I will explain later. I
thought it would be valuable to present this preliminary
review now. I think I can say enough about the subject to
help those readers thinking of getting into "on-line trading"
and similar activities. One additional apology: this review is
biased by my predominant interest in telecommunications.
The WAP StockSIG is better qualified to comment on and
review those aspects of The Equalizer that have to do with
other activities related to securities trading. I also want to
emphasize here that The Equalizer is NOT a program that does
trend analysis or directly suggests whether you should buy or
sell. Obviously. no securities dealer is going to sell you any
program or service that could in any way be interpreted as pro
viding trading recommendations. The program will help you
get the raw data, but you still have to make all the decisions.
In addition to the preliminary review. I also describe below
some alternative methods for accomplishing many of the same
functions as provided by The Equalizer.
SUMMARY OF WHAT 'THE EOUALIZER' IS
AND DOES
The Equalizer is a program for the Apple lie (128K
mandatory) and IIc. It will not run on the )[+ series. nor on a
lie without the extended 80-column card. Only a Super Serial
card can be used with external modems. though it appears
from the documentation that Hayes. Novation. and SSM
internal modems will also work. Only one drive is necessary.
although a second drive greatly reduces the need for disk swap
ping. There are three disks: System. Data, and Communica
tions.
This program, or more accurately, integrated set of
programs, assists you in doing three kinds of activities related
to trading securities. First, you may obtain a variety of
information or data, such as price quotations (current and
26
historical), and information on the corporation whose stock
you might want to buy. The telecommunications function is
key to obtaining these data, using several different networks
and data base services accessible by telephone line and modem.
Second, The Equalizer provides for the entry, transmission,
execution, and confirmation of transaction orders. Your
trading instructions are transmitted via TYMNET, directly to
Schwab's computers, and confirmations of trades are sent to
you using an electronic mail mode. Third, The Equalizer
contains a data base function, so that records are kept of your
portfolio and its changes. Data necessary for tax returns is
also processed and reported.
TELECOMMJJNICATION ASPECTS OF THE
EOUALIZER
As mentioned, The Equalizer can be configured only for a
lie or IIc with 128K, and only with certain hardware com
binations (albeit the most common ones, particularly the
Super Serial Card and Hayes Smartmodem or equivalents
thereto). To configure the program, in addition to defming the
modem type, you must provide the local telephone numbers
for TYMNET access, TELENET access, and passwords for
Schwab and for Dow Jones. Information about all of these is
provided at the time of purchase. The program "knows"
which telephone numbers and passwords to use for which
function. For example, the Schwab computer is accessed only
via TYMNET, whereas Dow Jones and Warner Computer
Systems data are accessed by either TYMNET or Telenet. The
telecommunications functions are performed in a rather
mysterious, "transparent" way. If a call attempt fails, several
repeat attempts are made automatically. In the "Research"
module, there is a "Dow Jones Terminal" mode, which allows
you to use your Apple for any Dow Jones Service function.
Essentially all other telecommunications roles are fully
automated, "hands off' on the user's part. Some users may
fmd such complete automation a bit sterile and unsatisfying,
but I suppose many users will be delighted. As Bill Cook has
put it, do you prefer stick or automatic transmission?
A PRELIMINARY REVIEW
I tested the telecommunication functions of The Equalizer
using a borrowed Apple /Ie, Super Serial Card, and an Anchor
Mark XII modem (which is essentially Hayes Smartmodem
compatible). Connection and logon via TYMNET to Dow
Jones and to Schwab were efficient and trouble-free. Although
I wonder what will happen to the software's utility if
TYMNET, for example, ever changes its command structure, I
cannot find fault with the way the program works at this time.
One positive feature of The Equalizer is the documen
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
r'\
tation. True, it is not perfect, and in the initial excitement of
getting set up, it is easy to enter a password wrong, miss a
parameter, or attempt to submit a trade order before a portfolio
has been established on disk. But if you read the manual and
follow it step-by-step, the program(s) will work as advertised.
Or rather, they should work. This review is in fact
preliminary because at the time of writing. I did not have a
complete working set of the three disks. Schwab's original
shipment had a bad System Master Disk. This was promptly
replaced, at which point I was able to test many of the
telecommunication functions. I was not able, however, to
test on-line trading, because the Data disk was also found to
be defective. [N01E: As of late December, I have received a
replacement Data disk. A future article will report on further
tests of the complete package, particularly the on-line trading.]
This is a good time to discuss backup/copy protection
features. The main menu includes provision for making
backup copies. You can make unlimited copies of the Data
and Communication disks (on which your critical portfolio
and tax data bases are stored), but only two copies of the
Master disk. I believe this is a reasonable compromise
between the legitimate need of the user to back up data, and
the publisher's interest in preventing unauthorized duplication.
It should be admitted, though, that there seems to be very
little purpose served in preventing dissemination of copies.
Without valid passwords and account numbers, an unauthor
ized user would fmd the disks to be of no value whatsoever....
GENERAL ASSESSMENT
PRO
1) The Equalizer holds forth the prospect for automating
virtually everything that an individual investor might need in
the way of information collection management
2) For the computer layman (the "rest of us" ...?), the level
of integration and automation of communication functions is
ideal.
3) The tax record-keeping function in particular can save
even a relatively small-time investor many tedious hours of
hand calculation and research, particularly when reinvested
dividends are involved.
4) The arrangement for making backup copies is reason
able.
CON
I) Program is limited to the 128K lie or IIc, and Super
Serial card. It seems to me that, with a bit less integration, it
would have been possible to squeeze the same functions into
64K, thus opening up the target market to ][1]]+, Franklin,
etc. owners. Accomodation of the-6850 ACIA interface card
family (CCS 7710, Apple Comm., SSM, AP-SIO, etc.)
should also have been pretty easy, considering that the Micro
modem uses a 6850.
2) Almost every function requires more disk swapping
than seems reasonable. In fact, if the software designers had
gone to five, instead of three, disks, any given function could
probably have been performed with no disk swapping. Disk
swapping also increases the chances of losing vital functions
from disk damage. For example, it seems to me that reading
Electronic Mail shouldn't require the Data disk. Disk swap
ping is the flip side of the attempt to fully integrate all the
functions.
Washington Apple Pi
3) My experience also suggests a possible problem with
disk quality control. Since these were early samples, I trust
that current "production" copies are not defective.
4) The complete integration is all well and good. But the
data collected and managed by The Equalizer does not appear to
be transferable. It would be nice to be able to take the port
folio, trading, and research data and use it in other applications
programs. At a minimum, Schwab should publish informa
tion on the me formats, and let users develop utility pro
grams.
5) Finally, a philosophical note. Schwab has adopted a
policy which amounts to charging for the purchase of the
program, and then charging fees for the various services as
well. Granted, one could just as readily think of the purchase
price as a registration or initiation fee, intended to discourage
casual dabblers. Still, even though the list price ($200) is
not, when judged by the complexity of the software, unreason
able, it is high enough to be a deterrent. What I mean by this
is that while many people I know are willing to gamble $75
or $100 on software they're not entirely sure they need, they
will not gamble $200.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE EOUALIZER
In a way, there is no directly equivalent alternative that I
know of. No software package for the Apple 1/ family at least
sufficiently integrates and automates data base and communi
cation functions in the specialized formats appropriate to
securities trading. That's not to say that you couldn't set up
AppleWorks or SuperCalc 330 for example, to do the record
keeping and data manipulation, and write AE-Pro macros to
automate on-line trading. Well, actually you can't do the
latter because Schwab does not provide the information neces
sary to access their computers except buried within The Equal
izer's code.
Very conveniently, the December 1985 issue of Compu
Serve's ONLINE TODAY magazine focused on "online bro
kerage and banking", of course limited to those services
available via CompuServe. I refer you to that magazine for a
description of Quick and Reilly's "Quick Way" service. It's
kind of interesting... Schwab and Q&R are the two largest
discount brokerages, and both are offering services which are
functionally similar, but implemented very differently. Quick
Way is available on CompuServe (GO QWK). It allows you
to enter orders, send mail, maintain portfolio and tax records.
The disadvantage relative to The Equalizer is that Compu
Serve, not your computer and disks, maintains the data base.
(But, is that really a disadvantage, considering that The
Equalizer's data is not transferrable to any other application
anyway... ?) QuickWay involves a surcharge over and above
CompuServe's on line charges, and there are both sign up and
annual fees. It's difficult to make a cost comparison between
these two approaches.
Electronic trading is available via The Source as well. In
addition, Max Ule provides a free-of-charge quotation and order
placement service at 300 baud, however available only after
hours for next day execution. With the possible exception of
persons with unusual schedules, or who cannot telephone a
broker during the day, I just don't see the value of "electronic"
order placement for next day execution (though it might be
"fun" to try once or twice).
contd. on pg 68
March 1986
27
THE REM-ARKABLE REM by Gary
Hayman
The REM statement is a REMarkable and highly valuable
tool. You can use it in your programs, not only to provide
comments explaining what is happening in a line statement,
identifying your variables, showing where the program is
branching to, but also as a technique to provide program ident
ification, titles, divisions/sub-divisions, comments, credits,
and even insert a little art in your listings. If you ever have
tried to read someone's program, you probably have thanked
them immensely if they include the REMs. How many of
you have tried to read your own program at a later time, realiz
ing that you don't know what's going on and wishing you
were sage enough to have included your REMs the first time
around.
Some of us, knowing how to use the statement, just plug
it in without attention to its possible AESTHETIC PRE
SENTATION. This discussion is pointed to the REM state
ment that occupies an entire program line by itself, not the
one that you attached to the end of a program line - that will
be covered in a later discussion.
The purpose of this article is to help you understand
REMs, make your REM statements neater and give you one
or two other ideas of how to USI! them. You might think of
presenting your REMs as you would present a fine bottle of
wine - with class.
SINGLE LINE REMS
Suppose we wanted to insert a single line REM into a
program. Let's learn by doing. Go to the computer, Boot
DOS (I use 3.3 myself) and type the following (just a
reminder that a RETURN <CR> does not appear here but it
IS to be typed at the end of each line):
NEW
20 REM FIRST FORMULA
30 Cf= 21 - LEN AS / 2
40 REM NEXT FORMULA
50 RN = INT(RND(l) • 100) + 1
Now LIST this program. Notice how it is slightly
difficult to read the REM statements. For better eye appeal
they need to be set apart from the program slightly. Add this
to the program then LIST.
21 REM 22 REM 31 REM 32 REM 41 REM 42 REM Now see how the REM statements are set apart from the
rest of the program. Don't you see how your eyes are quickly
attracted to the "worded" REM statements. Already we have
an improvement - there are better ones to come.
Insert this into the existing program:
18 REM··········,..······..•• (18 ".")
19 REM·
•
20 REM· FIRST FORMULA •
28
•
21 REM·
22 REM·····················
Now LIST it. Notice how nice the statement is set off.
You might use this for a title to your program contained in an
attractive looking box, or perhaps to mark where a subroutine
or an important part of your program begins. You could
actually put much information, such as copyright, author,
dates, etc. and it would stand out impressively.
If you dont't want the sides of the box then just eliminate
the "." in line 20 and also type:
19 REM
21 REM
HURRAY FOR CONTROL-J
A couple of examples ago we used a bunch of blank REM
statements to provide room around a worded REM statement
of interest There is an easier way of doing this. Let's use the
Control-1 -- <CTRL-J>, made by holding down the CTRL
key while typing a "J" - you knew that, didn't you?
Type this (some spaces left out on purpose):
NEW
10 REMTHIS IS LINE NUMBER ONE
20 REMTHIS IS LINE NUMBER TWO
30 REM<CTRL-J><CfRL-J>THIS IS LINE
NUMBER THREE<CfRL-1><CfRL-J>
40 REMTHIS IS LINE NUMBER FOUR
50 REMTHIS IS LINE NUMBER FIVE
Now LIST. Notice how line number 30 stands out. The
two <CTRL-1>s before and after the comment cause the com
puter to do a line feed (that is what a <CTRL-1> is), thus
causing the comment to be nicely separated from the rest of
the pack. Let me predict that if you are not using this
technique now, you will soon find it fantastically useful to
you in the future.
Let's say that you are writing a program which will use
various subroutines. You like to place your subroutines start
ing with lines1000 and above. If the fll'St line of your subrou
tine is a REM (single line type) and contains <CTRL-1>s
before and after the comment to set it apart, you will be able
to easily fmd it during a LIST. On the quickly scrolling
screen, it stands out because of the space around it. Likewise,
when listed to the printer, your eyes find it easily.
Try this (type exactly - don't include any extra spaces):
NEW
lOOOREM<CfRL-1><CTRL-1>SUB TITLE
CENTER<CfRL-J><CfRL-J>
2000REM<CfRL-J><CIRL-1>SUB WAIT
FOR KEY PRESS<CTRL-J><CTRL-J>
3000REM<CfRL-J><CTRL-J>SUB
GENERATE RANDOM NBR<CTRL-1>
<CTRL-1>
Now LIST this. Even with the addition of program lines
between the above numbers the titles of the subroutines stand
out
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
NUMBER ONE ON MY IJST
Now here is a great use for this technique which wiD have
you jumping up and down. The first line of my programs I
number as .. 1" and include a REM statement identifying the
program name (file name), such as:
lREM<CrRL-1>MY PROGRAM
(the <CTRL-J> is important here)
Now whenever I want to do a SAVE, all I have to do is
type LIST I, type SAVE, (go into the ESCAPE-EDIT mode)
press the <ESC> key then the "I" - 3 times - until the cursor
is on the same level with the title, press <SPACE> (this
exits the ESCAPE-EDIT mode), then press <REPT> while
holding down the right arrow until the trace is through
(COPY mode), then <RETURN>. The computer wiD do the
SAVE beautifully. This technique is quicker than you may
think and you never, never make a mistake in the spelling of
your program and save a me with the wrong me name - wiD
all those that have done that please raise your hands. I can
feel the wind caused by all your lifting arms from here. This
is especially handy if you are writing your program and saving
as you go - you should, you know. It is also handy if your
program name is something like - INT4ES7.BIG.SR. Those
are the ones that you are bound to make errors with.
Repeating the technique:
type LIST 1
press <ESC>
raise cursor with multiple presses of "I" (3 if you
used only one <CrRL-J»
press <SPACE>
copy title with <REPT> and right arrow
press <RETURN>
A limitation though. Your file name can't exceed 26 char
acters and spaces. Nonnal me names (DOS 3.3) are limited to
30 characters and spaces. Can you live with that?
I don't know if you noticed, but up until now I have been
keeping the characters and spaces after the REM at a limit of
23 for a reason. But you say, "Hold-on pardner! Just look at
line 3000, you have 271" Well Tex, <CTRL-J>s don't count
as a character when counting the numbers of spaces occupied
on a line; after all, they do not move the cursor to the right
only down. They do count for something else. I'll tell you
later on. The reason I alluded to the above is that on SINGLE
LINE REMs there can only be a combination of 33 characters
and spaces. Some of these spaces are taken up by the line
number, some by two spaces after the line number, some by
the characters REM and the space that follows it, and the
remainder by the comment
LEARNING ABOUT REMS
Let's do something else. Type:
NEW
lREM···..• ..•..••••• (put in at least 90
"·"Xno spaces please)
10REM···············
(ditto)
looREM··············
(ditto)
lOOOREM······..•••••
(ditto)
lOOOOREM············
(ditto)
You can, if you desire, use the <REPT> key plus the It ...
to add the 90 or so ...... The exact number is not too impor
tant, however, don't go adding over 240 - there is a reason.
Washington Apple Pi
Later! Now LIST 1. Notice what has happened.
1. The line number has moved over one column to the
left, to column 1 - where the cursor was.
2. There are now 2 spaces between the line number and
the ItR" - there was none before.
3. There is a space between the "M" and the first "+,,
there was none before.
4. The first row contains 26 ".It - it starts in column 1.
(This is the reason for the limit of 26 for my title save
example that I presented earlier.)
5. The second and later rows start in column 6 - not in
column 1.
6. The first, second and later rows stop in column 33.
The flI'St row contains 33 characters and spaces - including the
line number.
7. The second and later rows contain up to 28 "... - no
more.
When you list 10, 100, 1000, and 10000 everything is the
same except as each line number advances a magnitude, there
is one less "." on the f1I'St line only - the other lines stay the
same - 28 ".". Remember the number 28. We are going to
use it later.
MULTI-LINE REMS
You will find that there will be many times that you
would like to include a stand-alone REM statment that may
take up more than one line when listed This is where the
messiness usually occurs. I have seen words split in the
middle carried over to the next line making a great program a
little "eye sore", needlessly. Here is how to fix it so that your
creative programs look beautiful too.
TRICKS AND TREATS
POKE 33,28 is your REMarkable trick. Remember that
"28" that I asked you to keep in mind? Well, here it is. As
you probably know, when you POKE 33 with a number
between 1 and 40 - (DANGER, never above 40 or less than 1
or you might destroy your program) - you are effecting the
width of the text window. The default setting is 40 in
memory location 33. When you change the number contained
in memory location 33 it sets the right margin a certain posi
tion away from the left margin. Your left margin is normally
in column 1. You saw, when you ran the program with all
the "." that most of the listed lines contained 28 of them
(Point - 7), while the first line of the listed REM statement
contained 33 characters and spaces (Point - 6). Since the
majority of our multi-line REM statements will contain 28
characters and spaces, let's make it easy on ourselves so we
don't have to count too much and so that we can see our REM
layout easily.
Type this «CR> stands for carriage return. 1 mention it
here to avoid confusion when you see the cursor jump to the
next line early. Of cour~e the other lines end in a <CR> too):
HOME
NEW
POKE 33,28
l000REMWATCH- THE-TESTING-OF-MY <CR>
Notice what happened when you reached the last "_", it
started on the next line so that you had 3 characters appearing
on the second line, i.e. "-MY". Now type TEXT (which call
contel.
March 1986
29
cels the POKE 33,28 and returns the text window to its
default setting) and UST. Observe, the line number shifted to
the left, two spaces were inserted after the line number (one of
these spaces created when the line number shifted to the left),
one space was inserted after the REM, everything is on one
line which, if you count, now contains 33 characters and
spaces.
Now type this (be very careful and go slowly):
HOME
POKE 33,28
lOOOREMWATCH-THE-1ESTING-OF-MY
(STOP! NO CARRIAGE RETURN)
(when you get this far with three characters or
spaces on the second line press <ESC>, press
"M" once. press "J" three times, then press
<SPACE>. What this does is move the cursor
to the next line and places it in column I.
From now on, the remainder of the REM text
will only contain 28 characters and spaces.
CONTINUE TYPING)
NEW-SYSTEM-FOR-ENTERING-REM
(no <CR>'s until the end)
STATEMENTS-AND-HAVING-THEM-
LOOK-GREAT-ON-THE-SCREEN.<CR>
The "-" stand for spaces. I have put them in so that you can see that each line, other than the frrst and last, must have 28 positions occupied with SOMETHING. Here is how it looks on the screen while you are typing it:
HOME
POKE 33,28
lOOOREMWATCH-UIE-TESTING-OF
-MY
NEW-SYSTEM-FOR-ENTERING-REM
STATEMENTS-AND-HAVING-THEM-
LOOK-GREAT-ON-THE-SCREEN.
Now type TEXT to normalize it and then UST and look at the great listing (we will still improve on it in a moment). Notice that from lines 2 down, what you see, when writing the statement, is what you get. You can actually design the appearance of your statements by adding spaces at appropriate places. COOL RULE Here are the rules for making a nice looking REM multi
line stand-alone long text comment: 1. POKE 33,28 to reduce the screen width.
2. Enter your line number followed by "REM", (no spaces after the REM) followed by your comment until the cursor reaches column 4 on the next line. If you have to, to prevent breaking of words in the middle from line to line, type spaces till you reach column 4. This means that you will have three characters, three characters and spaces, or three spaces standing by themselves on the second line of typing. EXACTLY TIlREE PLEASE! 3. Now press <ESC>, "M" once, "J" three times, and <SPACE> to move the cursor to the beginning of the third line. 4. Resume typing your REM statement making sure that there are no word breaks. If there are, back-up (use left arrow) to the end of the previous word and then type spaces until the 30
cursor reaches the first position on the next line.
S. When you are fmished with the statement, type the nor
mal <CR> and then TEXT to return to the default text screen
mode.
That's all there is to it. It's easy once you have done it a
couple of times.
PROMISED IMPROVEMENT
Let's put our friend <CTRL-1> to work for us in this
example. Type this:
HOME
POKE 33,28
lOOOREM<CTRL-J><CIRL-J>WATCH-TIlE1ESTING-OF-MY <-- (use <ESC> technique
here to get to the next line)
<CTRL-J>NEW-SYSTEM-FOR-ENTERING-REM
<CTRL-1>STATEMENTS-AND-HAVING-THEM-
<CTRL-J>LOOK-GREAT-ON-THE-SCREEN.
<CTRL-J><CTRL-J><CR>
Now normalize by typing TEXT and UST. Neat! Notice
that the <CTRL-1>s don't show, they only moved each state
ment down a line or two - three or four or more, if you want.
You can create a lot of eye catching white or black space,
depending upon if you are viewing screen or paper, which
make your REMs more readable. However some limitations
do apply.
A BEEP FOR YOU
Just like your line statements, REM statements cannot
include more than 2SS characters, spaces and control char
acters. Although the <CTRL-1>s do not count when deter
mining your individual line length, as you can see, they do
count for the total length of your REM statement. Not to
worry, your nice APPLE will beep at you if your statement is
getting too long. The beeps start at the 248th character. Just
end your statement at a convenient place. You may want to
back up to the end of the previous line, and start a new REM
statement on a new numbered line. You will probably get
about 8+ lines of REM statements before the beeps begin.
ANOTHER TECHNIOUE
You will notice in the above technique, whether you use
the <C1'RL-1>s or not, when listed, the first line of the REM
statement is indented from the following lines. If you desire
to have an even left margin you can do this.
1. POKE 33,28
2. Enter your line number followed by "REM", (no spaces
after the REM) followed by your comment until the cursor
reaches column 4 of the next line. Then type spaces only until
the cursor rests under the frrst character after the "M" in REM.
Continue to type your lines of comments ENDING EACH IN
COLUMN 3 AND RESUMING EACH WHERE TIlE
SECOND LINE RESUMED - FILLING IN WITI-I THE
NECESSARY SPACES. Don't permit words to break. Back
up, if necessary, and use spaces as a fill as I described earlier.
3. End with a <CR> and type TEXT to normalize the
window.
Although this technique will give you less available
characters per line, the second and later lines will match the
number of characters and spaces in the first line, you will have
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
an even left margin for your comments.
I would also recommend the use of the <CTRL-1> here
too. It belongs after the "M" in REM and is repeated for each
line in that same column.
THE UNEXPECTED BENME
When using the techniques above mAT INCLUDE the
<CTRL-1>s, a very interesting thing takes place when you
UST to your printer. The comments are lined up to the left
of the page.
Now, hold on to your hat. If you should adjust the left
margin on your printer through your printer interface board,
let's say 5 columns in, and do a listing - all program lines
will start 5 columns in but YOUR REMS - where each line is
preceded by a <CTRL-J> - WilL BE FLUSH TO THE LEFI'
OF THE PAGE. Wow! Does this really set the REMs apart
from the pack and allows you to fmd things in a hurry.
You may ask, how do you do this? I respond - read your
printer interface manual for exact directions. I'll tell you how
I do it I tum on the printer through the interface card (I own
a Grappler +) with a PR#l. Then I send a <CfRL-I>"SL"
from the keyboard. Then, lUST.
Lap Computer contd. from pg 2S
lid, etc. When my lap portable is home, in fact, I keep it
plugged into a spare power pack (p.S. - the TI power packs
(part # TI AC 9201) now being sold in many places for
around $3 are a perfect match for the lap computer) and the DB
2S from my switch box.
Next time, I'll give the details of a patch to CP/M that
lets you use the lap portable as an external keyboard, for
example with Wordstar. I encourage readers to leave com
ments or questions on this series on the WAP bulletin boards,
by mail, or in person at the meetings.
go.:z" 2 -1-'----,
I
-
7
. ,..
4'%"--+-F==F='
c -....
4
S
,,
1 ......,..
4
S
, 11010
20
'---+-+20 I
OwttcllZ
a
0
THE END REM
Well, that's enough for now. Experiment with this and I
am sure that you will have some REM-arkable REMs of
which you will be proud
~
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1
March
1986
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31
DMP UTILIT~ES: A Review by Mark
Blass Although I primarily write correspondence, I'm a stickler
about the appearance of my printed output. I dislike the un
esthetic, skimpy dot matrix characters which spew from most
dot matrix printers.
Apple users who, like me, wish to improve th.e quality
and flexibility of their printers should consider bUYing DMP
Utilities from Vilberg Brothers Computing. I've been using
DMP Utilities for almost a year and have found it to be a
satisfactory solution to mundane copy.
At its most basic level, DMP Utilities is an easy-to-use
font downloader which relieves the user from the onus of typ
ing in long printer-control strings. But it is much more.
DMP Utilites contains a character editor program with which
the user can create either special characters or entire font-sets.
Finally, the program has a utility that enables the user to
convert hi-res character fonts into files that can be saved and
downloaded to the printer.
DMP Utilities is OOS 3.3-based and supports the Apple
DMP, lmagewriter I and II, and Epson FX and IX printers.
My version (4.7) is specific to the Imagewriter and, although
the Vilbergs no longer mention it in their advertising, it is a
good idea to identify your printer when ordering DMP Utili
ties. My program manual specifies that the Apple Parallel
Interface Card, Grappler+, Microtek (611, GX, and Dumpling
GX) and Apple Super Serial Card are supported. The lie's
built-in card is also supported. Again, if you're not certain
about the compatibility of the current version, call the Vil
bergs for advice. Finally, DMP Utilities will work equally
well with either one or two disk drives.
DMP Utilities comes with a program disk, a data disk
containing font sets, a 67-page manual, printed labels for a a
set of user-produced back-up disks and a small reference card
which lists the character editor keystrokes. Both disks are
unprotected. I personally feel an obligation to the Vilbergs
for producing such a neat program and wouldn't think of
letting my copy be pirated. Besides, the price is so reasonable
for what you get ($50 from the Vilbergs, less from some mail
order houses) that almost any afficionado can afford it
DMP Utilities is completely menu-driven. A main menu
is used to select one of three activites: printer setup, character
font editing and hi-res font conversion as well as program
termination. Sub-menus take the user easily through each of
the program's modules. The Vilbergs have added a reassuring
click to echo each menu keystroke.
The workhorse of DMP Utjlities is the printer control
module. On the lmagewriter the user can specify from menu:
horizontal spacing (7 modes from 72 to 160 cpi), left margin,
vertical spacing (2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 Ipi), page length (dependent
on the number of Ipi), page skip (the amount of space at the
bottom and top of pages), enhanced andlor expanded typefaces,
uni- or bi-directional print head sweeps (unidirectional for
more precise dot location), a choice of 6 alternate foreign
language character sets and either one or two custom character
sets from a data disk. If the primary character set characters
32
are not more than 8 dots wide, a second partial set can be
loaded (ASCII 32 to 111). If only caps are required in the
alternate set, the user can mix fonts within any word processor
program that can send control characters. from the. keyboard.
Favorite settings can be stored on a data disk for qUicker setup.
The DMP Utilities font disk that accompanies the pro
gram contains 24 fonts, each of which is fully illustrated on a
separate page of the manual. Included are a standard set that is
a good basis for customizing, a computer-style font, Greek,
italics, script, fat face, stencil, super and subscript fonts, plus
three 16-<1ot wide fonts which are printed as proportional-2 and
which give a tighter dot cluster.
After a font has been brought into memory and other
menu selections made, it can be downloaded to the printer via
menu commands. The user has the option of printing the
entire font as it is being downloaded. The font then stays in
the printer memory until the printer is turned off or a different
font is downloaded.
If those 24 fonts aren't enough, the user can either convert
hi-res fonts from other programs or create his own using
DMP Utilities' other modules.
The conversion module allows the user to convert either
Applesoft Toolkit or Higher Text ][ style fonts. I have
converted 6 fonts from Penguin's Complete Graphics System
small fonts disk, including Hebrew and Katakana. Once
converted, these fonts can be stored on a data disk and accessed
the same as the 16-dot fonts supplied by Vilberg Brothers.
Finally, the DMP Font Editor module allows the user to
create either fIXed or proportional width fonts or custom
characters from 1 to 16 dots wide. Character sets can be cre
ated from scratch or existing fonts can be downloaded from
disk and modified.
Editing is done on the Character Editor Screen. The upper
left quadrant contains an editing box in which a large
representation of the working character can be manipulated.
The bottom half of the screen shows important editing
keystrokes. The cursor can be controlled either by the arrow
keys or the familiar I-J-K-M diamond. The O-<-N-U keys
allow diagonal moves while the asterisk key or space bar
toggles a dot on or off.. Other keyboard commands allow the
mass movement of all dots, screen blanking, test printing of a
letter or disk loading/saving.
The DMP Utilities manual clearly discusses each feature
of each module. It is, for the most part, well written,
although Appendix B (Word Processors and DMP Fonts) is a
bit foggy. Before I purchased the program I had telephoned
the ViJbergs and one of the brothers patiently answered my
questions. I suspect that they will give a reasonable amount
of support to any purchaser in need of help.
I have used DMP Utilities with both Bank Street Writer
and AppleWorks with no problems. It is easy to use and
gives high value for the dollar. DMP Utilites, Vilberg
Brothers Computing, Inc., 4201 Hegg Avenue, Madison, WI
53716, (608) 221-0842.
@
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
SQUARE-ROOT ROUTINE FOR FORTH by Chester
H. Page Most computation routines for engineering problems
involve taking square roots at some stage. Even "trivial"
problems like finding the time of fall of an object, the
hypotenuse of a triangle, or the area of a triangle from the
lengths of its sides, require square roots. We can, of course,
use Floating-point FOR1H, or BASIC (!), if we are desperate.
The simplest way to compute a square root is by Newton's
iterative approach. Start with a "guess", divide it into the
original number, average the quotient with the "guess", and
repeat this cycle a number of times sufficient for the purpose
at hand. In floating-point, the cycle can be repeated until the
approximation (improved "guess") is as close to its previous
value as desired. In integer arithmetic, we can continue until
the approximation is within 1 of the quotient obtained when
dividing for the next step. Even using 1 as the first guess
will work, but can require a large number of successive
approximations. We need a simple routine for obtaining a
reasonable first guess.
The first procedure I tried for the initial approximation was
to generate a sequence of test numbers by successively
doubling them, comparing with successive halvings of the
original number, and stopping when the numbers cross. Thus
if the original number is 1500, the sequences are
1500
1
7S0
2
375
4
187
8
93
16
46
32
23
64
When these numbers cross, they cannot differ by more
than a factor of 4, so each is within a factor of 2 of the desired
root. The preceding operations are fast, and the resulting first
approximation yields very rapid convergence in the Newton
iteration.
Changing from a factor of 2 to a factor of 10 in getting
the initial approximation roughly doubled the overall speed of
the square-root operation. A rough series of tests indicated
that 10 was about optimum, being faster than 5 and faster
than 20.
Since the square of any number larger than 255 is above
the range of single-precision numbers, the square-root routine
must be double-precision to be of any interest. This will
provide for taking roots of numbers up to 4E9 (4 foUowed by
9 zeros). Small numbers can be scaled by adding pairs of O's
to get full precision in the answer, which has been scaled by a
factor of 10.
The required division operation will be division of an
unsigned double-precision number by another unsigned
double, giving an unsigned double Quotient. This is analo
gous to dividing an unsigned single by another unsigned
single, for which there is, surprisingly, no word in FIG
FORTH. The unsigned division is the miml precision U/
with the stack effect (ud u>>>ul u2). When we want
Washington Apple Pi
unsigned single-precision division, we have to create an operatiol
as 0 SWAP UI to convert the dividend to an unsigned double. A s
operation is needed in our case, with conversion of the dividend
unsigned quadruple precision number to allow use of UD/, and j
discarding the double-precision remainder, keeping only the qUI
With a double-precision vocabulary (see this Journal, Jan. 1986), \I
use the foUowing screen for the square root operation.
SCR# 1
0\ SQUARE Roar OF DOUBLE-PRECISION NUMBER
1: UDIUD (udl ud2-ud3) O. 2SWAP UD/2SWAP 2DROP;
2: START# (dl-d) \ get rough approximation to start iteration
3 1. BEGIN 2SWAP
\ xCi) d(i)
\ xCi) d(i)/10 4 10. UD/UD
5 2SWAP 10. D·
\ d(i)/lO x(i).l0 6 20VER 20VER D< UNTIL \ repeat until d(i) < xCi) 7 2DROP; 8: ROOT (dl-d) 2DUP START# \ dl r(l) 9 BEGIN
10 20VER 20VER
\ dl r(i) d(i) r(i)
11 UD/UD
\ dl r(i) d(i)/r(i)
12 20VER 20VER D- DABS \ dl r(i) d(i)/r(i) abs. difference
13 1. D> WHILE D+ 2. UD/UDI \ dl r(i+l)
14 REPEAT
\ repeat while difference> 1
15 DMIN 2SWAP 2DROP ;
\ retain INT(sq root of dl)
The root operation requires about.3 second; the foUowing
test took 29 seconds.
: TEST 100 0 00 4.000000000 ROOT 2DROP LOOP ;@
March 1986
Disk Conversion Apple to IBM and Back
Over 90 formats
3-day turnaround
Manuscripts transmitted
at 2400 Baud to Typesetters
RAEDA TA,lnc. 7411 Riggs Road#104 Adelphi, MD 20783 301 439-1799 33
BASIC -> PASCAL TRANSLATION: A Review
by Robert
v. "Pete" Rusk
Back when the Earth was still molten I 'hired' an Apple
][+ to help with my business bookkeeping. Applesoft, 48K
RAM and disk drives were the hot new licks at the time, and
spreadsheet was a household chore; so I roUed my own book
keeping system in Applesoft BASIC.
Then came Pascal. "Oh boy!", I said, "Easy to edit! Over
lay! Call-by-name!". Well, yes: but why mess with success?
My bookkeeping system is a BIG wheel to re-invent, and it
cripples along quite nicely, thank you. So When Woodchuck
Industries advertised their P-TRAL BASIC to Pascal translator
in the WAP Journal, I bought; and yes, Virginia, it (almost)
does translate BASIC to Pascal. ' Almost' because you have to
assist in the translation process and because all disk operations
are left as an exercise for the student
Translation is a multi-pass affair that requires operator
attention and proceeds slowly enough that Woodchuck
Industries and I recommend using a speed card and fast drive.
The manual is complete, concise, and well written with just a
trace of an English accent. Operation is easy enough that no
further comment is needed here. Two versions of the non
copy-protected programs are provided to accomodate 64K and
128K Apple ][s. The price is right and the license agreement
is very reasonable. Woodchuck has provided one update to my
'Pioneer' version free, and offers an upgrade to the professional
edition for just $25 Real Soon Now.
Having said that P-tral works at least as well as advertised
and expected, however, does not teU the whole story because,
depending on need, the underlying concept may be faulty.
Can BASIC be (almost) automatically translated to Pascal?
Yes. The question is whether or not it should be done at all,
and if so, for what reasons. This is because the best structured
and elegant BASIC translates to Pascal source code that com
piles and runs, but would drive Dr. Wirth or Dr. Wo to
suicide. My BASIC becomes Pascal that is truly arcane and
just as difficult to edit as BASIC.
If your goal is execution speed or the ability to keep
soun:e code confidential, consider an Applesoft compiler
instead of P-tral. If you have a number of large stand-alone
BASIC programs that you want to run under the Pascal
operating system almost without further ado, buy P-tral, write
your I/O routines and enjoy. For integrating a number of
interlocking BASIC programs to take advantage of the power
of Pascal and its operating system, P-tral is best considered a
programmer's aid that can save a lot of typing and some
skullsweat if it is used properly.
The correct procedure for attacking large interlocking
programs is to begin by deciding how you want the final
Pascal to look, and edit the BASIC into rough chunks that
approximate the desired form including segments, inclusions,
library functions, and overlaying. Then translate these chunks
with P-tral and read through them to check your BASIC
editing and Pascal planning. When you are happy with the
program integration then use a P-tral translation as the basis
for editing the Pascal program(s) into final form.
As for my bookkeeping system translation project, forget
it. If anything, it is going to be translated to ProDOS
because I have realized that the data structure is both wrong for
Pascal and impossible on the Apple Pascal operating system.@
Washington Apple Pi Meeting Sched ule Beginning in March 9:00
9:30
.
VI C'o
VI C
Go_
Auditorium
Cafeteria
\.
34
.-c
~~
11:00-11:15
Appll!' "
ProQram
z:oo
12:45
Macintosh Program Macintosh
O&A Session
Apple II
O&A Session
Interest
and announc~mt'nb
and announcemenb
Groups
Sp~cial
Journ01 distribution ond disk s01es begin ot 6:45
ond go for os 10ng os demond (ond the supp1y of
Y01unteers to hondle the demond) permits_
March 1986
-
Washington Apple Pi
BEST OF THE APPLE ITEMS FROM UBBS by Euclid Coukouma Recoyering Lost Data
FROM ERIC RALL ON 01/05
Sometimes ...just sometimes, it is possible to make a good
copy of a ProDOS or DOS 3.3 disk that has an 110 error. If
the 110 error is caused by a bad epilogue or checksum in the
header, you can do the following:
1) Boot a DOS 3.3 System Master.
2) CALL-lSI
3) ·B942:18
4) 3000
5) RUN COPYA
That should do it! Location $B942 normally contains a $38
which is a set carry. That's what picks up your error. If you
insert a $18 (clear carry) you've just told DOS 3.3 that
everything is ok and it should ignore the error. The copy will
not have the error that the original had. Of course, if the error
was something more severe, then this won't work. But then
again it doesn't hurt to try. Just remember to always write
protect the original before attempting to copy it That's just
common sense and has nothing to do with the patch.
Hord Disk Partjtons and ProDOS
FROM WALT MOSSBERG, ON 01/06 TO MIKE
UNGERMAN
Backup /I DOES allow restoring by volume into a new vol
ume of different size. That wasn't my problem, as it turned
out Backup II worked just fine. My problem, I'm informed
by First Class Peripherals, is that ProDOS can't handle
unequal-sized large volumes on the same drive. Thus, I got
the cataloging errors. It's a new ProDOS bug which FCP
says they and Apple discovered in the past few weeks. The
solution is to do still one more reformat, this time making
the two volumes equal. I did it, and all is well. I now have
two ProDOS volumes of 9072 blocks each instead of one at
9952 and one at 8192. AU fIles are intact and each volume
catalogs accurately and consistently. Incidentally, the new
version of Copy ][+ (6.0) worked perfectly through all of this
as well. As for Pro-COPY, I'm through with it Don't use it
any more. Copy][+ is more powerrful, and hasn't any bugs
that I can detect
FROM LEE RAESLY ON 01/07 TO WALT MOSSBERG
Walt, I am also told that the Sider will work fine with one
VERY large ProDOS disk, and the other the smallest possi
ble. I have had no problem with this combination.
Franklin & ProDos
FROM MIKE UNGERMAN, ON 01111 TO BRUCE
FIELD/ALL
I saw your article on modifying the ROMs to get ProDOS up
on a Franklin. Actually, a software patch is much easier to
accomplish for the average user. The following patch was
published in a letters column in A+ for ProDOS 1.0.1 It
should be valid for 1.1.1 if you can find the offset for the
same code. I haven't tried it on 1.1.1, but I helped a friend get
it up on his Franklin. On the User's Disk, sector edit: Track
$1 Sector $C Starting byte $B4 from: $AE B3 FB to: $A2
EA EA. Track $1 Sector $9 Starting byte $59 from; $69 OB
DO 03 to: $69 OB EA EA. Once modified, this version of
ProDOS can be transfered to any other disk. It would prob
ably help to have the full parameters of where in the ProDOS
imag~ this ~ located, but "frankly" I took the easy way
out..lt works.
Copy U+ Bug -- WARNING!!!
FROM WALT MOSSBERG, ON 01120 TO ALL
ATTENTION! URGENT WARNING! DO NOT use the
"Alphabetize" function on the new version (6.0) of Copy ][+!
It contains a major bug that can screw up your directories now
and into the future! (Attn: Mike Ungerman -- Incredibly, it's
the same bug that ruined Pro-Copy). (Central Point is being
informed of this.) Bugs were discovered. But for now, DO
NOT Alphabetize your directories with Copy][+ (v.6). If you
have already done so, you must copy all affected directories to
a new volume, delete original, recreate directory file on vol
ume where it was in first place, then copy all fIles back into
recreated directory. Only alternative fix is to re-sortl alpha
betize all affected volumes and directories with an alphabetizer/
sorter routine known to work right. Only one I know of is on
a utility called "CATDOCTOR".
He DUQdjsk
FROM TOM O'HAGAN, ON 01/18
I have a lie with the duodisk drives. Since last spring I have
had a intermittent problem when I boot-up, format, or access a
disk from within a program I will occasionally get a write
protect or other error message. These messages are totally
false. I get around it by leaving the disk drive "door" open and
shutting after the head starts spinning. I have had the drives
to Computer Age on Georgia Ave twice in early and late sum
mer. First they adjusted the speed then they replaced the
analog board for a total of $117. Neither idea accomplished
anything but a funds transfer from me to them. Does anyone
have any ideas?
FROM BRETT PARKS, ON 01120 TO TOM O'HAGAN
I had a problem that sounded like yours recently. Had a data
disk for SuperCalc 3a that I could read with the old Apple
drives, but not a new duo disk drive. Using a disk inspection
program called "COPY 11+ (v6.0)" on the duo-drive Apple,
found that track 0, Sector FF would not validate. However,
running the same program on the machine with the old Apple
drives did not turn up a similar problem. Does sound like the
duo-drives got a bug in 'em someplace, don't it? I solved the
problem by saving the files I needed to a new disk.
FROM LEE RAESLY. ON 01120 TO TOM O'HAGAN
Tom, when I fU'St got my Apple, I had intermittent trouble
with the drives not booting. I had an off-brand monitor
(actually a cheap TV!) and had it placed on top of the drives.
Several trips to the dealer did not help at all, as they worked
perfectly there. Wrapping a piece of wood with 6-7 layers of
aluminum foil and placing it between the drives and the
monitor solved the problem.
contd.
Washington Apple Pi
March 1986
35
UtlE IMeg Bd
FROM DOUGLAS E CANTON JR ON 01108
The Apple upgradable memory board for the II series is
shipping (Old news? If so just ignore). I spotted it at Com
puter Age with a sticker of 279 or something like that. I only
wish products for the Mac would flow faster.
BamWQ[ks
FROM JON CHURCH
I am having trouble using Ramworks with Modula-2. I have
limited success using it as a ramdisk but what is particularly
irksome is that the software sent with Ramworks will not
change the root volume correctly. I would greatly appreciate
any help.
FROM HENRY DUBESTER, ON 01128
Have just recently installed Ramworks II from Applied Engi
neering, and have encountered the following problem when
installing WordStar into Ram. WS.com and associated files
needed to run Word Star are loaded into drive C: When I enter
the WS command to run the program it loads fine, but when I
change the logged drive to B: where I have my files, it first
spins drive A: then B: and recognizes the original WS pro
gram in Drive A: and no longer needs to go to C: Has anyone
encountered this problem, or have a solution?
FROM JOE ENGLAND, ON 01129 TO HENRY
DUBESTER
Henry, I believe that WS needs 10 be reinstalled to use drive
C. Go to the menu of WordStar features part of the install
program and tell it that the default drive for program files is
C. Thereafter it should know where to find it.
Apple software they tried including: PFS series, Appleworks,
Prodos, Flight Simulator II, etc. This .machine has all ~e
standard IIc features PLUS a parallel pnnter port, a numenc
keypad, and 10 function keys. AND...... y?U ~et a s~dard
Apple 50 pin expansion slot! The pnce mdlcated IS $3?5
(price does not include monitor). I called both Central Pomt
and Applied Engineering. Central Point claimed that !he
Laser 128 is not compatible with RAMWORKS. Applied
said they would contact Central Point to see if the Z-Ram
would fit. AE also said that if the Z-Ram board would not fit
they would consider modifying the board to fit the Laser 128.
Central Point and AE promised to keep me infonned.
FROM THERON FUllER, ON 01/22
Just talked to a friend who just found out from Applied
Engineering that AE is coming out with an Apple lie clone
for $395. The AE clone will have 6 ports, or slots for
expansion. Don't know any more than that right now.
Apple )[ ys IBM
FROM TOM O'HAGAN, ON 01128
Thought I would try to get some dialog going over one of my
pet complaints. Apple is always being put down compared to
IBM and others. How much of this is the fault of the
software houses who write 95%+ of their software to the
lowest common denominator of 48K/64K Apples when there
is a sizable base of lIe-c Apples out there with 128K and if we
add in all the Ramdrives which are not that much different
than AST 6 PACK or Quad Boards, the software companies
could really write some high powered programs. They just
don't want to limit their market and the cat keeps chasing his
tail. How many upgrades would there be if popular software
was developed which required it? Any feedback?
Apple Flakes
FROM MIKE UNGERMAN, ON 01111
So what do you do if your Apple goes flakey on you? Besides
give up and take it off to the $50 per hour folks. In my case,
I had a Ht which had intermittent key operation, but no
apparent problems with the key switches. After doing the
remove the cards and clean the contacts trick, I decided to swap
around some of the IC's. Being very careful to avoid static
electricity, I got out my trusty jewelers screwdriver and
swapped around chips of the same designation. This has some
validity in that not all circuits on an IC are used by the
circuits in the Apple. Many chips have multiple gates and
logic circuit.'I; not all in use by the Apple in the location they
are installed. So by swapping. the problem will either go
away, or move to the new location giving a different indica
tion and identifying it as the culprit. In this evolution, the
problem was gone, and much time in the shop and $$$ were
not spent! Happy swapping!
FROM TOM VIER, ON 01129
Part of the problem is that most software houses do not write
vertical market applications for the Apple/fline. Personally, I
had to use an IBM-based program to do some printed circuit
board artwork since nothing was available on the Apple II
(yes, there are some for the Mac, but no Macs here at work).
There's nothing like AutoCAD either. Sorry, but the Apple II
is not taken seriously by the business community whether
you or I like it or not.
FROM TOM VIER, ON 01/13 TO MIKE UNGERMAN
Mike, sometimes all that is needed is to push all the chips
down in their sockets without swapping. The thermal cycling
and vibration will cause chips to creep out. I keep mine on all
the time, but then my location doesn't have power failures or
lighting strikes...
FROM BRETT PARKS, ON 01/30 TO TOM O'HAGAN
I'm in a work environment here, and operate both with IBM
and Apple equipment. For the most part, most folks here
would normally prefer to use the Apple equipment, and do so,
unless the software they must run is only offered in an IBM
format. We also have some older CP/M machines that are
still in use. I prefer the Apple myself, but it could be better.
The 128K limit is really a farce, as this machine I'm on now
is a 1 meg Apple. Now, if I could only get a Spreadsheet that
would really use all that memory...... Or unprotected software
that I could re-configure to use that memory as a fast disk
drive. If I'm forced later to go to aU IBM stuff here, it will be
software, not hardware that will be the driving force behind the
move.
lie Clones
FROM ERIC RALL, ON 01/13
I received a flyer from Central Point Software for a Laser 128.
They claim that the Laser 128 is compatible with all the
FROM LEE RAESLY, ON 01131 TO BRETT PARKS
Brett, The latest version of The Spreadsheet 2.0 will grab all
memory from any 128K card, as well as from AE's
RAMWORKS! I use it aU the time. Lee..
contd.
36
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
Llnereed Stripper
FROM DAVE BETIWY, ON 01/30 TO ERNIE LANE
If you can save the downloaded flIe as a text flIe, then you can
do what I do. I edit the flIe with my word processor, Apple
Qriter, and do a global replace of all Control J's with nothing.
Cordless Phones
FROM DONAlD KAffi..ER, ON 01128
I have a Uniden 4000 cordless that works fine as a portable
phone. I tried shutting off the power to the phone, shutting
off the switch on the phone, trying different cable hook-ups,
etc., and finally discovered that the portable phone had to be
totally disconnected from the phone line before my modem
would work at 2400 baud!
DQllars & Sense Upgrade
FROM ROBERT W. WOOD JR., ON OllIS
I recently upgraded my past Dollars & Sense Program (64K
/Ie Version) to the newer (128K /lc (or e» version. The new
version has several improvements/enhancements...
1. Ability to transfer data to AppleWorks (Via DIF).
2. Uses a 3.5 disk drive (boot from 5.25 with Program on
3.5).
3. New much nicer way to use something called descriptors
(old automatic entry items).
4. Use of Apple Key (and use of Return vs "P" to accept).
5. Will interface with Moneylink (for electronic banking).
6. Can read older versions of data disks (made under old
versions of the program).
Cost$34.95 (including S&H). Procedures: Send in all old
program disks AND the documentation to include the binder.
Send to: Monagram (ATTN: ROPD Department), 8295 La
Cienega, Inglewood. CA 90301 (Tel (213) 215-0529». They
will accept VISAIMC.
Printing Messages
FROM GARY HAYMAN, ON 01/09 TO TOM VIER
Tom, reference printing out messages on the printer while you
are online. With my terminal program I could save a
multitude of flIes to disk, each as a separate flIe or with good
engineering through the BBS, create one file and look at it
later with a word processor. But suppose there are several
messages on the board that I would like to respond to while
posting a message. If I did what you suggested, I would have
to log off, load my word processor, print the messages, and
log back on to make my new message - hoping that I could
get on. So now you know that sometimes there is a reason to
have the printer on for brief periods to capture material for
immediate reference. If there is something long, like
something from the Library, one should use the capture buffer
and save to disk for later processing.
Calljng
VA BBS (300 Baud) at 1200 Baud
FROM MATTHEW J. EGAN, ON 01/06
Once I read about the new Pi BBS in Great Falls I started
trying to access it (since the Maryland numbers are long
distance for me) but have failed miserably and totally. I have
one of those DAK cheap modems (Prometheus clone) and
hope I am not being punished for my being a skinflint
Here's what happens: When I dial the number, and presuming
it's not busy, it rings; then my modem emits its normal high
pitched tone, followed by the customary switch to an
obnoxious squawk. but the squawk never ends, just keeps on
going (no wonder DAK calls it a "Duck") until I get tired of it
contd. on pg 40
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Panasonic 10Q1 •.•.••....•.. $245.00
Epson FX-85F/T .•..••••.•.•• $360.00
FX-185F/T ••.••••••••• $495.00
JX-80 ••••••••••••••••• $489.00
LQ-1500 w/par. interface ••• $950.00
Ribbons ••• call for discount prices
Paper 20#, 2500 sheets •..••• 22.50
20#,microperf •......•• 26.00
Rainbow Packs .•....•• call
Grappler + . II!." • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
80.00
Buffered Grappler+ .••.•..••. 156.75
Serial Grappler+ (Imagewriter) 83.50
Grappler C ••••••••..•••.••••• 83.50
Hotlink ••.•.••••••.••••••••.• 51.75
Print it! Interface •••••••.• 175.00
JVC FORTIS 12" amber monitor • 80.00
XTRON Comcolor 14" CompOSite monitor
color switchable to green • 150.00
TAXAN COLOR MONITOR ••••••••• 260.00
ShuffleBuffer (64K) ••••••••• 270.00
ShuffleBuffer (128K) •••••••• 340.00
Printer Stand: short--25.
long--30.
Disk holder for 3-1/2" ••••••• 10.00
Disk holder for 5-1/4" ••••••• 10.00
Alphabits Card ••••••••••••••• 75.00
SuperSprite Graphics Pkg •••• 290.00
Koala Pad Touch Tablet ••••••• 80.00
Koala Pad Adapter for II ••••.• 6.00
Micro-Sci Disk Drive, A2 •..• 165.00
Mac Enhancer (Microsoft) ••.. 186.75
Verbatim diskettes
SSIDD --17.00/10
--160.00/100
DSIDD --22.00110
--210.00/100
3-1/2" -16.00/5
-- 30.00110
, Buy 5 bOMes of 5-1/4" disks and
receIve a DataCase ••••••• FREE
Head Cleaning Kits •••••••••.•• 1.20
FingerPrint (MX Series) ••.••• 45.00
( F X Ser i es ) .•...• 52. 50
Record Master
(Complete Data Base
System) ••.••••••••••••• 40.00
Special on Scholastic Ed. Series;
Story Tree, Agent USA, Mystery
Sentences, Tales of Discovery,
~ Math Man •••••••••••••••• 28.00
COPY II PLUS for II, lIe, lIe 28.00
COpy II MAC •••••••••••••••••• 28.00
DAVID-DOS II ••••••••••••••••• 32.00
DOLLARS & SENSE for MAC ••••• 105.00
MacModula-2 Language System. 100.00
This ad is written a month in
advance. Since prices are subject
to change, please call for current
pricin9. We attempt to meet all
advertIsed prices. COMPUTER DEN Ltd. 11716 KEMP MILL ROAD
SILVER SPRING~ MARYLAND 20902
301-049-6868
Call to order
Sunday - Thursday, 10 A.M. - Q P.M.
Free·delivery to Crystal City
UPS shipplng
Quantity Discounts Available
l====================~==~============
Washington Apple Pi
March 1986
37
][ IN A MAC (The Apple][+ Rides Again!)
by
Lawrence Husick
As a long-time owner of an Apple ][+, and a recent
purchaser of an Apple /lc, I was oveIjoyed to read in a recent
issue of MacUser about a program which would permit me to
run my Apple ][ programs on my 512K Macintosh.
][ in a Mac, by Computer: Applications, Inc. of Raleigh,
NC is a well-crafted program which magically transforms my
sleek, user-friendly Macintosh into a wann-hearted, familiar
Apple ][+. The screen even looks like an entire well equipped
computer desk for myoId Apple.
•
File
Edit
Disks
Options
][ in a Mac Apple ][ Keyboard
Help
][ in a Mac Joystick (Mouse Controlled)
In addition to four simulated 5.25" floppy disk drives (each
is a 146K file on a Mac disk), and a keyboard on-screen
(which can be used instead of the Mac's keyboard, though I
can't image wanting to), the simulation has a joystick/mouse,
annunciator lights, a clock, and a full ports. The port assign
ments are:
~
III
Inside )[ In
0
Moe
i_I
The ][ in a Mac Screen and Menu Bar
Slot 1 - Printer Cord
Slot 2 - Modem Cord
Slot 3 - 80 Column Cord
Slot 4 - Clock Cord
Slot 5 - Disk Drlue
Slot 6 - Disk Drlue
DOS RRM-Disk
Slot 7 - ProDOS RRM-Dlsk
The cards are emulations of common ones for the Apple
][, including a parallel card for the printer, a communication
card for the modem, a Videx VideoTerm for the 80 column
card, and a ThunderCIock.
][ in a Mac Hardware (on-screen)
38
Operatiog
Working the Apple J[ emulation is as easy as operating a
"real" Apple. Perhaps it is really easier, since the Mac desk
accessories, "Cut & Paste", and other functions still work,
even in Apple J[ mode. In addition, few people have 4 disk
drives, a clock, a serial card, a parallel card, and all of the other
features of J[ in a Mac. An example of the ease of operation
is the loading of the simulated disk drives. The menu says it
aU:
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
¢:J
The manual (45 pages and reasonably complete), claims
that the emulation runs at "35 - 40%" of the speed of a real
Apple][. During Benchmark tests, the actual performance of
compute-bound tasks was within this range, while J/O-bound
tasks ran at about 28% of real Apple speed. However, speed
is not a real issue in the program since you can always use an
Apple][ for "full speed" applications.
A real value of the program is the ability to learn to
program in Applesoft BASIC, Integer BASIC, and 6502
assembler. For less than the price of MicroSoft BASIC, you
get nm BASICs, and a lot of fun. All in all, not a bad deal.
In addition to the Master disks and utility disk provided
with the package, the producer advertises that there are 5
public domain disks of Apple software available for $9.95
each, or all 5 for $44.75. If many members of SigMac were
to purchase the emulator (a group buy?), then the WAP
library could be transferred to Mac disks. The wealth of Apple
]( software would then be available to the "Mouse Crowd".
Remoue disk from Slot 6, Drlue 1
. . Insert a disk Into Slot 6, Driue 2 .•.
¢:J
Remoue disk from Slot 5, Driue 1
. . Insert a disk into Slot 5, Driue 2 .•.
III!II
\...,./ Create an Rpple ][ diskette ...
The only difficulty in operation of the program is in the
startup phase. Because the master disk is copy-protected, and
is a "key disk", it Jlll!.S1 be inserted in the drive ~ time ](
in a Mac is started. This is more than inconvenient, it is, in
my opinion, irresponsible of the manufacturer to have this
protection scheme. At least the scheme pennits a "backup" to
be made, but this backup will not run without the original
disk, thus rendering it all but useless.
The package also includes an Apple ][ utility which
transfers disks by a cable between the Apple ][ and the Mac.
This utility, while easy to use, proved entirely unreliable in
operation. In 4 tries, it failed to correctly transfer a ProDOS
disk to the Mac. Luckily, another supplied utility allows
conversion of Macintosh files to the ]( in a Mac format, so
that I could use Red Ryder to transfer the files, and the import
them to ]( in a Mac.
Performance
The emulation seemingly runs all "well behaved" Apple
software (that which does not use the old NMOS 6502
undocumented OpCodes). This includes Applesoft BASIC,
Integer BASIC, and machine language, under DOS 3.3 and
ProOOS. For example, the PHONE LIST program from the
DOS System Master disk ran without a hitch:
,. a File
Edit
Washington Apple Pi Disks
Options
Help
Informatiog
][ in a Mac, by COMPUTER: Applications, Inc., 12813
Lindley Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614 (919) 846-1411.
Emulates Apple ][+ 64K, Parallel Card, Serial Card,
aock, 4 disk drives, RAM disk on a 512K Macintosh.
@
A Friend in Need
by Steven Brecher
Laura Smith, manager of MacTutor Magazine (and wife of
publisher/editor Dave Smith) called me this moming to ask
about submission of my column. As usual, I asked what the
absolute latest deadline was. She said, in an unsteady voice
that suggested tearful determination, that they'd had a "set
back": their office was burglarized last night and all their
equipment, software, submissions -- everything -- was taken.
(For those who don't know, MacTutor is a Macintosh pro
gramming journal.)
Laura said the next issue of the magazine might be late by
a week or two.
The shock and bravery in her voice really affected me; she
is one of those rare people whose purity of spirit and goodness
strike one anew each time one meets her. She and Dave, who
quit his job last year to spend full time nurturing what was
then a tiny magazine, have worked night and day and have
succeeded in making MacTutor an important resource of the
Mac community. Their dedication has been and continues to
be a labor of love for the potential of the Macintosh and an
instance of the best kind of entrepreneural spirit
I'm sure Laura and Dave and those who work with them
will overcome this setback. If you have a subscription, I'd
suggest that now would be a good time to extend it If you've
been thinking of subscribing, now would be a good time to
send in your subscription. It is what I know of Laura and
Dave and what I heard in Laura's voice this morning, rather
than my association as columnist, that leads me to make this
suggestion. MacTutor, $30/yr, P.O Box 846, Placentia, CA,
92670.
(From MAUGTM, 30-JAN-86. Reprinted with permis
sion.)
@
March 1986
39
~
®
Mac Section
'2~
'7)
SIGMAC NEWS
by Brooks
Leffler
Desktop publishing using all sorts of Apples was the
topic for the joint meeting of SigMac with Mother WAP on
January 25. Topics of club-wide interest are covered elsewhere
in this issue; this report deals only with the presentations on
desktop publishing for the Macintosh.
Bernie Urban had rounded up a group of publishers and
suppliers, each of whom use or sell different software to
accomplish similar ends. Each described his software from his
vantage point
Paul Funk showed a set of templates and generic graphics
he has devised to use in the creation of inexpensive but
attractive newsletters using only MacWrite, MacPaint, and the
Imagewriter. He has packaged them under the title Newsltr,
which he markets privately at $29.95.
"About 80% of all news is predictable, and can be planned
for," says Paul. His material includes layout templates, mast
head ideas, art for regular column heads, postal indicia for
mats, "thought starters", and guidelines for folding self
mailers. He moves all elements into MacPaint so that the
whole publication prints with the same qUality.
Leon Moore uses Microsoft Word
to publish VeloVoice, an 8-16 page bicycle racing club paper issued 10 times
a year. The windowing and columnizing features of Word
make it ideal for Leon's publication, which is mostly type
with few graphics and a minimum of pasteup.
Leon has found that by using the "Tall Adjusted" page
setup and LaserWriter fonts, he can approximate the finished
laserwritten product on his Imagewriter. On-screen and IW
quality is not as good as with IW fonts, but spacing and pro
portions are very close to LW output, so layout is much
easier. He suggests The Printed Word from Microsoft Press
as a valuable reference for anyone publishing and using this
software.
Jim Graham uses ReadySetGo from Manhattan Graphics
to publish a booster letter for the Woodbridge High School
Band. Jim described the creation of the newsletter in this
journal several months ago. At the meeting, he chose to
demonstrate the workings of RSG instead of repeating him
self, replicating an item from last month's journal, Dave
Morganstein's article on Excel, which Dave created using
MacPublisher and Bernie actually published using Page
Maker. Jim showed that RSG (.auld create a pretty good
replica of Bernie's journal layout
Jim's view of RSG: For the money (about $65 from the
discount houses), it's an excellent and satisfying program;
while there are still some problems in version 2.0, they aren't
debilitating. The software requires a 512K Mac and has a 32
page limit
Dave Morganstein had been asked to discuss! demonstrate
his use of MacPublisher in preparing the same journal article,
but decided he didn't like the article, so made no presentation
except to point out that version 2 of MacPub, due out last
fall, should be released this February. It requires only 128K,
has a 96-page capacity, and has both automatic save and auto
40
pagination.
Bernie Urban rushed in where Dave hesitated, and
demonstrated the layout of Dave's article using the high-priced
($400+) spread, Aldus' PageMaker. This program is loaded
with features which make layout easy and flexible, but unlike
those discussed previously, this one doesn't have word
processing capability, working instead with text files imported
from other software.
Bernie pointed out that he doesn't use the 16-page capacity
of the software because of the erratic flow of material from
contributors; rather, he sets up the journal one article at a
time.
Finally, Jay Condren from Allied Linotype discussed the
recently announced Linotronic 100 package, combining Mac
software with a 1200-dot laser printer to provide high quality,
high speed text, graphics, and composition, at a cost of
$37,500!
One unique feature of this package is the way in which
three levels of speed/quality are accommodated: each drop in
quality simply skips more dots in the 1200-dot matrix, instead
of using a coarser matrix. Draft quality, for example, prints
only every fourth dot. While the Linotronic system was
developed primarily for the printing industry, soon it will be
possible for Mac users to have Linotronic prints made from
disk. A list of printers equipped to provide such service will
be forthcoming.
@
Best of Apple BBS contd. from pg 37
and break the connection. Is there perchance something special
about the V A BBS - is it maybe broken - or have I happened
upon some deficiency in a modem that seems otherwise to be
performing admirably?
FROM TOM VIER, ON 01/OS
Matt, the Great Falls Pi Board is 300 baud only_ You have to
switch your communications program to 300 baud BEFORE
sending the ATO string to the modem! This will cause the
modem to originate the call at 300 baud. If you talk to the
modern at 1200 baud, it will originate the call for 1200 baud.
Originating modems DO NOT adjust their speed, the
ANSWERING modem does this (if it can). If both tried
switching, they'd be fighting back and forth all day. So there
is nothing wrong with your modem.
@
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
MAC Q&A
by Jonathan
E. Hardis
Q: How do I get a copy or InsUk Macintosh?
A: The "fmal" version has been published by Addison
Wesley. You can get it at area bookstores, such as the
(University ot) Maryland Book Exchange and B. Dalton,
or call 617-944-S660 for phone orders. The three volume
paperback set costs about $70, and the hardbound coffee
table edition goes for about $SO. Note that the informa
tion in this version does not include information on the
Mac+. A fourth volume may be published. In the mean
time, read the Macintosh Technical Notes. (To order at
other bookstores, the ISBNs for the three volume set are
0-201-17731-5,0-201-17732-3, & 0-201-17733-1. The
hardbound edition is 0-201-17737-4.)
Q: How do I get the Technical Notes?
A: You can subscribe to paper copies for a year by sending
Q: Is the Finder in ROM now?
$25 to Macintosh Technical Notes, Apple Computer,
Inc., 20525 Mariani Avenue MS3-T, Cupertino, CA
95014. Apple encourages user groups to distribute them,
too, as long as no money changes hands in the process.
We will coordinate distribution through the Thursday
SIGMac programmers' group.
A: No.
Q: Does the Macintosh Plus have a ran?
A: No.
Q: What new reatures does the Macintosh-Plus have?
A: A new 12SK ROM, SOOK internal disk drive, 1M of
RAM, expandable to 4M, a SCSI (Small Computer
Systems Interface) port on the back, a new style key
board, and different serial port connections. The new
system software includes automatic disk caching (you
don't need Turbo-Charger or MacBooster any more).
Also, the Control Panel desk accessory was redesigned,
the new Key Caps DA now adapts to the different
keyboards and fonts (fmally, there is a "new Key Caps"
that works well!), and a new Chooser DA better selects
printers and deals with AppleTaik.
Q: What's in the new ROMs?
A: From Tech Note 57: A faster Resource Manager. Future
applications have a new technique to be able to start run
ning in a hUrry. Commonly used resources are now in
ROM, instead of in the System ftle. There are new calls
to allow programs to look for resources faster. Quick
draw was optimized for speed rather than for space. (The
old ROM was cramped) Some primitives run 2-3 times
faster than before. (On the other hand, the WAP contin
gent at AppleWorld Expo found that some primitives run
slower!) Bugs were fixed. Fractional pixel widths are
defined for fonts to allow you to draw Laser fonts on the
screen better. Text written in color is handled better.
And a new font numbering system allows for more fonts.
MacPaint's bucket and lasso functions are now in ROM,
so other programs can use them easily.
There is a "zoom box" feature for windows, similar to
the "close box" feature, that allows a window to grow to
full screen. This should be the new, standard way of
doing so, replacing double-clicking in the title bar.
Menus that would have gone below the bottom of the
screen now scroll. There is a new math package for fixed
point fractions. Previous math packages are now in
Washington Apple Pi ROM, too. There is also a floating point string conver
sion package.
The new Hierarchical File System (HFS), as well as
the old (MFS), and their Open and Close dialog routines,
are now in ROM. There is a SCSI port Manager. You
can now abort disk swapping with Command-period.
The Memory Manager is revised to add speed and more
features. There is a standard List Manager, for selecting
some things out of lists.
The idea is that programs should check to see if they
are running with the new ROMs or the old. (Address
$2SE has $FFFF for the old roms, $7FFF for the new.)
If you have an old ROM, they should take that into
account and still function normally. Finder 5.1 is such a
program.
Q: Is Steve Job's name still inside or the back cover?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the Mac+ an interim machine? I'd hate to buy
it if' it will be made obsolete in six months by a
super 68020, slotted, color Mac.
A: For the time being, the Mac+ is Apple's $2500 machine
(in round numbers), and the 512K Mac is Apple's $2000
machine. I think in 9-12 months, the 1M Mac+ will be
the $2000 machine, and the 4M Mac+ will be the $2500
machine. With the XL, Apple discovered a market niche
for a $5000 machine. And you are right. it will be a lot
fancier, whatever it looks like, than the Mac+.
If the Mac+ does what you want a computer to do, you
can buy it with the insight that Apple has, in the past.
kept new models around for about two years. If you
really want color and want a machine that compares with
a Sun or a micro-Vax II (larger and faster machines than a
Mac), Apple may have such a product later. It will not
compete directly against the Mac+.
Q: Will the SI2K Macs come with the new ROMs
and the 800K internal disk drive?
A: Not for a while, if ever. For now, they are selling off
old stock. Later, they may build more. When that hap
pens, I would expect them to use the newer parts, though
that isn't guaranteed. It's clear that if money is no
problem, you should get the new model. (It will cost
just about as much extra to upgrade later.)
Q: What upgrade paths are available?
A: There are three upgrades offered to owners of older
machines. You can get just the new ROM and 800K
internal disk drive for about $300 (list). There are no
restrictions on who might buy this. Additionally, you
can get the new Mac+ motherboard (with 1M of RAM
and the SCSI interface) for about $600 if you have an
contd.
March 1986
41
Apple 512K motherboard Those with 128K models,
third party, or do-it-yourself memory upgrades will be
charged about $800. The lalter comes with a new back
section of the case. The new keyboard is a separate, user
installed item. (No more external keypads, included in
the new keyboard, are being made.)
Q: How can Apple do this to us! I can't arrord this
upgrade!
A: Then don't get it. If your present machine suits your
needs, or if you just use il. for a hobby, there is no
requirement that you buy imything else. The 512K
Macintosh will continue to be supported. And as
always, you can expect the price of the upgrade to be
reduced in 6-12 months.
Q: I have a 128K Mac, and I was hoping to upgrade
to S12K arter the January announcements. What
about me?
A: The 512K motherboards are now out of production, at
least until the buying surge of Mac+'s and upgrades is
over with. Some new 512K upgrade boards remain in
dealer stock. You have to hunt for them.
Alternatively, try this. Dealers will be collecting used
512K boards as their owners get Mac+ upgrades. Since
the extra cost for a Mac+ upgrade to a 128K owner is
$200, try offering your dealer $200-250 for a used 512K
board He can run diagnostics on it before you take it
home, and you can ask for the "pick of the litter". If he's
on the ball, you can also agree on a private warranty.
They can swap another used 512K board if yours fails
within an agreed upon period of time.
Q: What ir I recently bought a Mac or an Apple
upgrade?
A: A rebate is in effect, until May 15, if you bought either
product between Nov 17 and Jan IS. The rebate is for
buying additional upgrades, not for what you've already
purchased You can get $150 back from Apple if you
buy the $300 ROM/Disk upgrade kit, and $300 back
from Apple if you buy the $600 Mac+ motherboard kit
If you bought either the 512K Mac or the 512K upgrade
kit after Jan 15 and paid the old price for it, I'd kick up a
fuss to try to get the rebate rights, too, if not an outright
refund
Q: What are the details on the new XLisa upgrade
(downgrade?), trade-in program?
A: There's a lot of confusion on this now. The only thing
for sure seems to be the effective dates, which will be
April 15 through August 31.
Q: Is all software upwardly compatible to the Mac+?
A: There are still problems in that not all old software
works with the new Hierarchical File System. However,
they should still work if you run them using 400K (One
sided) disks. Other than that, the only problem case I've
heard of so far is Red Ryder, which is said to hit a bug in
the new ROM. The next version should work around it
(Additionally, Red Ryder version 7.0 now has a
confIrmed bug in the XModem routine. Scott promises
to fix it in version 8, which he says will have lnt.\ of
new stuff.)
While not a problem with the Mac+ as such, Finder
5.1 requires applications to foIlow certain rules that were
42
not enforced in the past. If the application's Finder
resources are numbered wrongly, the Finder will get very
confused and do strange things, even bomb. This is
most likely to be a problem on hard disks, where large
numbers of applications have to coexist correctly. I don't
know which are the CUlprit applications, yet. But I'll
mention them, and patches you can apply to them. as I
fmd out It's always wise to make frequent backups!
Q: Why are MacPaint and MacWrite now sold
separately?
A: Other companies wanted a piece of the action. Micro
soft, for example, has a special promotional package of
Word which can only be bundled with the Mac+. (The
dealer cost is $50.) Apple felt that the old system was
discouraging people from writing new and better word
processing programs. Expect to see additional MacPaint
like programs, too. On one hand, this may lead to the
Great American Word Processor that the Mac now lacks.
On the other hand, we may lose the sense of common
ality that MacPaint and MacWrite have given us.
Q: Are 400K external drives still available?
A: Only as stock on hand. Apple is only shipping 800K
capacity external drives now.
Q: Can I upgrade my 400K external drive?
A: Apple sent out mixed signals at the beginning. But the
answer at least for now is no. They expect you to buy a
new 800K external drive instead ($375 at 25% off of list)
and recoup some of the price by selling your 400K drive.
However, I predict that within 9-12 months Apple will
offer such an upgrade, once dealers are over the crunch of
Mac logic board upgrades and once sales slow on the
more profitable products that use the 800K mechanisms.
In fact, you can do the upgrade yourself. I did, for
about $250. I've yet to verify (as of press time) that the
device works on a Mac+. But if I do, I'll write up the
details for a future Journal.
Q: How do I use an Apple 800K external disk drive on my
old Macintosh?
A: If you have only 128K of RAM, you can't (At least, it
is "not recommended".) If you have a 512K machine, see
your dealer and ask to copy the "Macintosh™ System
Update" disk that came with his January 16 AppleGram.
The disk contains System version 3.0, Finder 5.1, and
the HD-20 (HFS) patches. If you boot your machine
with it (from the internal drive!), you will be able to use
the external drive, too.
Apple instructs you to copy the System. Finder, and
HD20 mes from this disk to any other application disks
you want to use with the external drive. Of course,
you'll lose your fonts, Desk Accesories, and installed
hard disk drivers, so you'll have to recreate the System as
you like it The new files are not guaranteed to fit on all
old disks, and you may disrupt someone's brilliant copy
protection scheme. So, back up everything very well
before you try it, and allow plenty of time for experi
menting.
Note: If you only plan to use the 800K extemal drive
to read and write One-Sided (4ooK) disks, you likely
won't need to copy any files. Just boot with the special
disk, and go about your business with your old disks.
Note: "Two-Sided" (8ooK) floppy disks use UPS, the
contd.
"'-'
new file system. For a discussion of software that has
problems with it, see page 58 of the February Journal as
well as the Mac Q&A colunm.
Note: If you tty real hard, and I won't tell you how,
you can format an 800K disk with the old MFS. This is
not recommended!
Q: Does this mean that I can use Finder 5.1 on a S12K
Mac?
A: Yes. Finder 5.1, System 3.0, ImageWriter 2.1, and
FontlDA Mover 3.0 are now the "official" versions for
both the 512K Mac and the Mac+. You don't have to
use them, and my advice is: if it isn't broken, don't fix
it. But if you insist on being a pioneer, install them all
together! (Note that the external drive update disk does
not contain any Imagewriter driver. You'll have to
scrounge for that, separately.) 128K owners are about to
be squeezed, since new software is supposed to be
released with this configuration. Be very cautious about
using this new software along with hard disks that don't
support HFS (yet), such as the HyperDrive.
Warning: Only FontlDA Mover 3.0 knows about the
new Font resources for the new, enhanced font manager.
Do not use the older versions on any new System file,
and change over to version 3.0 as soon as possible.
Q: Can I use "single sided" disks in the 800K disk
drives?
A: Yes, all disk drives will read and write single sided disks.
The issue becomes clouded when you ask if you can
format "single sided" disks on both sides. In most cases,
you can at least tty to. I've heard that some brands have
notches in the plastic to prevent it, but I haven't come
across any, yet
But, in no uncertain terms, Apple says in the Mac+
manual that you will regret the day you did so when you
lose all of your data. At least for now, I disagree.
Single sided disks may only be inspected at the factory
on one side, and you have no claim against the company
if the second side (the top side) is bad. But the best
inspection of a disk is done by the read/write head in your
disk drive. If it sucessfully formats, it works!
Unlike other floppy disks, the 3 112" disks can never
be inserted upside down. The danger with the bigger
ones was that the pressure pad opposite the read/write
head would scratch the "bad" side. When you turned the
disk over, the "good" side could get scratched as well. (In
the same vein, your old 3 112" disks may have a
scratched "bad side", but new ones should be in better
shape.)
All floppy disks wear out, and you always risk losing
your data on them. Double sided disks should be
expected to fail twice as often as single sided disks.
There are twice as many sectors, and one bad sector kills
the whole disk. (Indeed, I've found that about twice as
many "single sided" disks fail to format on both sides (1
in 15-20) as on one side. So far, one lout of 6 true
"double sided" disks have failed to format for me, too.)
ALWAYS keep adequate backup copies of all your
important files. If you can't recover it, you didn't need it
By the way, the office sells real double sided disks in
bulk for $2.10 each.
Q: Do third party 800K drives work on the Mac+?
Washington Apple Pi
A: I've personally seen the Mirror Magnum work. Larry
Moss of Haba conflfDlS that their drive will work, also.
I don't know if these brands use the new and faster
method of built-in speed control that the Apple disk uses.
By the way, if your Haba disk is too noisy, call Haba
Customer Service. There is supposed to be a fix for the
problem.
By the way again, I was wrong last month. Still only
one disk at a time will spin.
Q: What are the connections to the Mac+ serial ports?
A: See the connector information elsewhere in this issue.
Q: What kind or connector is this runny 8-pin mini
DIN?
A: Hard to fmd! The 8-pin mini-DIN connector is now
found on the serial ports of the Mac+, the ImageWriter
II, and the Apple personal modem. You can call Jay
HeUer, who should have an ad in this issue. He makes
cables to your specification. You can also buy an Apple
dual mini-DIN cable (M0187), cut it in two, and add your
own connectors to the fresh ends. The 8-pin to 9-pin
adapter cable (pIN 699-0372) seems harder to find. H-B
associates, 800-423-3014, is a source of the mini-DIN
connector. Hoisden America (415) 322-5454, and Har
bor Electronics (203) 438-9625, also supply cables.
Q: What adapter cables come with the Mac+?
A: None. But with the upgrade kit you are supposed to get
one of the 8-pin to 9-pin adapter cables. A second one
will cost extra. You might want to just replace the
whole cable instead of buying an adapter.
Q: Is it true that the serial ports are losing their +5
and +12 volt power pins? And what does that
mean?
A: Despite what I said at the meeting, yes, both the +5 and
+12 volt connections are gone from the serial ports.
(They are still found on the other ports, but be very
cautious about drawing power from them. This is meant
to be a hint - the additional features require more power.)
This affects all peripherals that were powered by the Mac.
Others, such as the MacBottom hard disk, sensed the
power to tell when the Mac was turned on. Most MIDI
interfaces (except Southworth's) used this power, as did
Thunderscan. Thunderware will market an adapter acces
sory, getting power from a wall outlet, for about $20.
Other third party vendors will also make powered adapter
accessories. Apple did add a DTR output signal line,
which can be made to assert +12. Just don't try to draw
any current from this connection!
PCPC is working on a software-only modification to
the MacBottom to get around the change. And if you
never sent in your MacBottom registration card to
PCPC, do it NOW. If you never got one, calI800-MAC
BUIT and tell them who you are. They want you to get
the new software with all the changes in it (including
HFS, hopefully).
Q: How do I turn a 1M Mac+ into a 4M Mac+?
A: First the good news - it won't require a board swap. The
bad news (well, bad only if you can't live without 4M of
memory) is that Apple won't offer such an upgrade until
the price of IMByte SIM (Surface Inline Mount)
contd.
March 1986
43
memory modules come down. (They are only available
now in small quantity, at high expense.) These modules
have eight of the new megabit chips mounted in one
convenient package, and the packages (4 of them) fit in
sockets on the Mac+ logic board. (Presently, the Mac+
has 2S6K SIM modules.) If you are an electronic
hobbyist and want to be the first on your block to have a
4M Macintosh, youll also have to change a strap on the
logic board. It's unclear to me exactly how to do this.
But if you want to experiment, remind yourself that it's
meant to be easy enough for a dealer tech to do. (On a
1M machine, the memory image repeats four times
because address bits 20 and 21 aren't tested. You have to
make them significant, and also move the screen RAM
from the first 1M bank of addresses to the fourth.)
Q: WiD the Apple HD-W hard disks now use the
SCSI port or the disk drive port?
A: They will use the disk wive port, at least for the
foreseeable future. (Ed. Note: Apple reps have stated that
HD-20 hard disks are not upgradeable to the SCSI.)
Andy Hertzfeld says that, all things considered, the
difference in speed would be "less than a factor of two".
Further, the SCSI port is "only slightly slower" than the
Hyperdrive connection.
Q: How do the speeds or tbe new bard disks compare?
A: It's still a bit too soon to gel a complete run down. The
Hyperdrive Mac+ version and upgrade won't be out until
around March (or so they say), and some of the others
haven't hit market yet, either. But the Micah internal
drive does do something better than a lot of the others.
Most hard disks have a 2: 1 interleave. That is, during
reading and writing the disk controller will skip a sector
in rotation for each one it reads or writes. This gives the
computer time to process the data. The Micah is fast
enough to use 1:1 interleaving. That is, no sectors are
skipped in rotation. This makes the Micah drive com
municate 2-4 times faster tltan a disk on Apple's SCSI
port. It's reputed to be about 1/3 faster than ASTs
newly announced 74MB SCSI disk, which has the
advantage of faster inter-track seeking.
Going back to the HyperDrive, the ROM update,
required if you change your MAC's ROM, is supposed to
cost about $90. The cost will be between $200-$300 if
you also want to update your Mac's motherboard to the
Mac+ variety. If you have an older, soldered-in Hyper
Drive (not the newer clip-on variety), your situation isn't
clear yet.
Q: What's the story on the (cheap!) Warp Nine internal
bard disk?
A: Check with the company for the latest information, but
I'm told that it is a self-installed kit. There is no
warranty except on the Rodime drive mechanism, and
that is between you and Rodime directly. A boot from a
floppy is required
Q: Can the LaserWriter be upgraded to be like a
LaserWriter+ ?
A: For the time being at least, the LaserWriter+ exists only
as an upgrade to the base model of the LaserWriter. The
upgrade consists solely of new ROMs. They are
installed at a dealer. The new ROMs contain more fonts,
allow for more easily downloadable fonts, and fix bugs.
44
Q: Anything new on MultiMac?
A: Andy Hertzfeld reports that the author went to extremes
jumping into the ROM directly in over 200 places (once
is too much), modifying the then-current Finder, and
doing other things that wiD make his efforts wasted on
the Mac+ and later products. (Not to mention that many
programs don't work with it, as is.) Since commercial
prospects for it now seem dim, it may show up as
shareware.
However, it turns out that Andy himself has been
working on a similar project, which he demonstrated at
the Expo. It's called "Servant", and extends Switcher.
Servant will also handle the functions now performed by
Finder, and it will provide for multitasking (different pro
grams running in different window). Particular attention
is being given to background print spooling and back
ground modem control (for file transfer). He hasn't sold
it yet, and it isn't very far along. So don't expect to see
it anytime soon.
Q: Now that the new ROMs can be used by the 68020
microprocessor, what can you tell us about putting a
68020 in a Mac?
A: Be wary about putting a 68020 in a Mac, or buying such
an "upgrade" from a third party, such as Levco! While it
will run a lot of software faster than the 68000, there are
some products, such as MacWrite, that will fail to run at
all. (MacWrite uses the Trap instruction, which works
differently on the '20.) The on-chip cache may affect
programs with self modifying code, and too much soft
ware assumes critical timings that will no longer be the
same. It's one thing to buy an extra 68020 based "Mac"
to crunch numbers, but it's quite another to convert your
only Mac, burning some bridges forever.
Q: Why does printing proportion differently between tbe
LaserWriter and the ImageWriter?
A: LaserWriter printing corresponds to "Tall Adjusted",
where the IrnageWriter prints in equal pitch horizontally
and vertically. The usual "Tall" printing on the
ImageWriter scrunches text together horizonally, since it
looks better (to some people) that way.
Q: Help! It seems that my HyperDrive lost a drawer or
files.
A: Scott Recker reports that GCC told him to
try the fol
lowing. With the Manager, start creating new drawers.
When the HyperDrive becomes almost full, you may
suddenly be able to open your lost drawer.
Q: The Apple symbol in the menu bar is blinking. What
does that mean?
A: The alarm clock has gone off. It seems that SideKick
might have something to do with it. (A Happy New
Year message?)
Q: I have several Excel worksheets on several disks.
I'd like to be able to print a report consisting or
portions rrom each. How do I prevent a page-eject
between each portion?
A: You should create a new worksheet with external refer
ences to the regions of each you wish to print. To
indicate which disks the subordinate worksheets are on,
preface the file name with the disk name and colon. For
example, cDisk:Document'!Area.
contd.
Q: In Excel, how do I avoid #REF! errors when I
have to use "complex" external rererences?
A: Reserve a portion of the worksheet for "simple" external
references to all the external references you will need
Then, within the worksheet, make internal references to
this area
Q: I want to print 1" tall mailing labels. How do I set
the page length on the ImageWriter to be 1"?
A: It's a bit more complicated than that. What you want to
set are called PREC resources. You can define (almost)
any page height and width that way. Quick and Dirty
Utilities Volume 2, from Dreams of the Phoenix, is said
to have a tool to help with this. We'll know more after
it ships, shortly.
Q: Can I use the HP LaserJet printer on the Mac?
A: SoftStyle markets Laserstart, a print driver for it. Mel
Beckman came up with a trick to handle the problem of
its small graphics memory. When you get the flashing
code indicating memory overflow, push the Formfeed
button to eject the partially printed page. Then, replace
the sheet in the paper tray, face down, top to the far side,
and press Continue. Voila! He is suprised at how well
the halves register with each other.
Q: How do I totally erase an Apple HD·20 to start
over?
A: Here's an undocumented trick: Run the Hard Disk Test
application, and hit Command-D just after you start it
up. You'll get additional commands, including a button
marked DSTRCT, for "Distructive Test". The test will
run for over an hour, thoroughly erase the disk, and test
it as well.
Reconditioned Mouse
661-9615536.00
The anicle contained other information on the repair of
mice.
Quickies: Thunderscan software is at version 3.1 ...
Borland is saying 2nd Ott for Turbo Pascal ... The new
spelling checker Spellswell fails on long documents; send in
your registration card to get a free upgrade. (Insist that you
get a version that will run under Switcher.) ... To get Excel
on hard disks, copy the master with Copy II Mac, then install
from the copy; this way you won't run out of "installs" when
you have to reformat the hard disk ... The "Mock" package of
DAs is now up to version 4.2, which supports HFS and the
LaserWriter better .,. Launcher in BatteryPak has been fixed to
work with more applications; call Battery's Included for update
information (not final as of press time) .,. MacTerminal 2.0
is a free upgrade at your dealer; bring in your old disk ... The
only difference between version 1.03 of Home Accountant and
1.02 is that the copy protection was removed; if you've
received your disk marked BACKUP, you can return it to
Arrays/Continental for a free replacement; call them for details
... OverVUE is no longer copy protected; your dealer can
update your distribution disk with the new version ...
FreeTerm version 1.8 implements the fast downloading
method (now called Fast-Track™) that I discussed in the
November Journal ... If your MacBottom fails to work with
the new ImageWriter driver, go back to the old ImageWriter
driver and call PCPC for update information ... If your 10MB
HyperDrive software doesn't have a print spooler or caching,
contact GeC for update information '" The Mac's battery is
not a AA cell; read the label ... And fmally, many thanks
again to the people on MAUGTM who provided much of the
information used in this column.
cID
Q: Help! While trying to rerormat my Hyperdrive, I
got a message," A hardware timeout error occurred
while testing the Hyperdrive controller logic", and so
on.
A: It's a bug in the software. GCC recommends the fol
lowing, using the latest software (#411 Manager).
(1) Boot from Hypersystem 1. (2) Double click on the
Manager, while holding down the Command and period
keys. Wait for the beep. (3) Choose Format when the
dialog box comes up. (4) After the format, abon the
disk test. (5) Turn the Mac off, then on - don't just use
the reset button. (6) Recreate the Stanup drawer.
Q: My MacBottom started squealing and chirping ror no
apparent reason. How do I make it stop?
A: Steve Mahler relays the following from PCPC. Turn off
the drive, disconnect it, and turn it over. Make sure that
it is unplugged. Shine a flashlight through the slots on
the bottom and find, right in the middle, a 118" diameter
ferrite rod which touches the bottom of the motor shaft
With an unbent paperclip, push this rod a wee bit into a
new position on the motor shaft.
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to buy a new one?
A: Ban Thomas reports seeing the following list in the
Washington Apple Pi (DC Res. 6% tax)
(Special W AP Price -- $39.95)
Q: Can a broken mouse be repaired, or do you have
Princeton Mac User Group Newsletter:
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(pan number) 699-8001 $9.00
Retaining Ring
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TAX PRO is II tnldernarlt of OIcsapeake sonware. Macintosh is a lradcmarlc licensed
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March 1986
45
r..J
Cv (....~~
Mcu::N()\'ice C()lumn 1-0
by Ralph J. Begleiter
I
~1040
"Tax Time"
Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service
U. S. Individual Income Tax Return
1l~85
For the year January 1 - December 31, 1985, or other tax year
Many of you are thinking ahead to tax time right now, and
if you're a MacNovice, you're probably wondering how you
can put your Mac to work for you at the cumbersome and
time-consuming job of tax preparation. You may think that
using a computer for tax preparation is strictly for computer
experts, but there are things you can do to make your tax
preparation effort easier and faster.
Perhaps the easiest way to use your Mac at tax time is to
purchase one of the many tax-preparation software packages
already on the market for the Macintosh. They range in price
from less than $50 to several hundred dollars, and they profess
to do just about everything but actually pay your taxes!
There are several software pclCkages which duplicate IRS
forms right on your screen (using MacPaint), and allow you
to simply enter data into the appropriate places. The computer
then figures out most other entries, based on the data you
insert. Finished forms are ready for submission to the IRS.
Other tax-preparation packages simply offer spreadsheet tem
plates which accomplish similar goals, but don't actually print
out fmal tax forms which you can send to the IRS.
In this column, I'd like to suggest ways to use your Mac
at tax time without buying a commercial software package. If
you've already become adept at using your spreadsheet
program for other purposes, you could create your own
templates which compute tax entries. But that's a task
befitting more a MacExpert than a MacNovice. For the "rest
of us," we can use our Macs to simplify what is probably the
most tedious task at tax time: compiling the raw data we need
to figure our taxes.
Use your spreadsheet to create a "Tax Worksheet" into
which you can enter transactions all year round. The spread
sheet will sort them, organize them, and compute totals for
you if you set it up correctly.
On the facing page is an example of this kind of work
sheet, made with Microsoft's "Multiplan".
Set up categories for "contributions," "income," "taxes,"
and so on, allowing space for adequate descriptions of each
item, personal check numbers (if you wish), and totals for
each category. Use your spreadsheet to "define" the entries in
each category. (For instance: "define" "contributions" in two
separate categories: "cash" and "kind". This will give you the
totals to insert directly into your itemization for the IRS!)
The example shown here may not exactly suit your own
needs. You may have other types of deductions. The advan
tage of using a spreadsheet program for this effort is that you
can always add new categories during the year, without
46
disturbing the rest of the collection. You can make adjust
ments in the column widths, and other aspects of the work
sheet's appearance.
When you're ready to print your worksheet, fITSt use the
sorting capability of your spreadsheet to automatically sort all
your entries alphabetically, or by number, date or amount
Then print your sheet and use it to complete your tax return...
or give it to your accountant. You'll both appreciate the time
savings!
Using a spreadsheet program to prepare tax worksheets is
probably the least complex way to do the job. Other basic
software programs can do more.
If you already own a database computer program (there are
literally dozens now available for the Macintosh), you can
make your tax work even easier. A database will not only
keep track of all your transactions, but will compile
appropriate totals; even compute results if necessary. And
you can make additions and changes right up to the deadline, if
you like. The database program will automatically take the
changes into account, re-arranging your worksheet printout
and computations.
Here's an example of how to set-up your database format
for tax-time recordkeeping (this example was made with
Stoneware's "DB Master"):
If you set up the form to accomodate common tax-time
categories, you'll automatically be "reminded" by the format
each time you make an entry to enter all the information.
That will help you be sure all the information needed is right
at hand when tax-time approaches. The "remarks" area allows
you to make a note of unusual information, such as a descrip
tion of the purpose of a contribution, or the valuation basis of
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
,gMultiplan TaH Template
(:.~!r~M ...................... :P.!¥.'!!II....................... ,......... :....... $J ;I. QQ.. :................. . ..................................... :P.!v.!!~ ................................. :....... $~..QQ•. :................. .
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~
~.4;1.!!O.. I'i',,' some stock or material contributions.
Of course, the more flexible the database
program is, the better you'll be able to adapt your
tax records to your own needs and style. Here's an
example of how a tax record form might look with
Microsoft's "File" database program:
190618" DaiD
~
i................. .......
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.....................................:.........................................:................. :........... " .. ,.. Ilill ~rop.~".IN'j~m.~' ..... :~I)!r~.G'J..~~.t.t: ...................... :.........$9.-!lO..:...............,.. ':1' ~ '1130/65
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..................................... :......................................... :................. :.................. ,1,1, ~\'ItI9Il\~.~~nm ............. :T.q\.lJM,IM".(I)~'.4rly.~ .......... :........ ft.1~e.. :(T)n~ ............ ,I,ll .1..
..................................... :t11\~u,j(I)W",,!I. ~ .(tr:(I).(~~L: ........ m .. :(I)i~L .......... ,i,li ~~~~~:::::::::::::::::::::::::i~=~~~::::::::::::::::::::::::':~~~f:
. ;.. . . . . . .
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!!i!i ..................................... :(~.!i.'!'.lro.(:.¥m') ...... ,......... :....... $.1. .QQ•. :•..•...•......•.•• 1,1, .!L
Obviously, using the Mac to keep track of
your tax records requires you to do a thorough job
T.QT.~k P.NI~~. ~1:'( ......... ~ ......................................... i.... ............. i.. ......'.\ ?.~~.. i:i:, of entering those records. Instead of dumping
..................................... :............................. •••• .... •• .. :.. ••• .... •• .. •.. ·: .... •· .. •.. ·• .. •.. 111 11)!'ml.t~llw~ ................. :mw.4!lP~J..qf!\H~ql\1<',1.~I~~.~i:l:~:~L .....$n~.·!!?.. :.................. i',', receipts in a shoe-box or a desk drawer, collect
them for a week or a month at a time...and enter
them promptly in your database throughout the
T.QT.~.II(l~!I.i.~ ...... :......................................... :........ ,....... :.... ~.l.1i!.~~.. 1,1.1 year. At tax time, you'll be left with little to do
.................... ,................:........................................ :................ :................ 1,',1 but add last-minute items such as W-2 wage and
~:'::::::~::'::::::::::::::::::::1:.ts~;:.~t~~:.:::::::::::: :::::::::::J~~:j~::~::::::::.::::::::: i:;:l witholding information, and year- end interest data
T9HkJM\~~l>.1.fjC9~ .........:.........................................:...... ,..........:.......~.I!~.ftO.. i','1 That's a lot less work than shuffling through a
.....................................:.........................................:.................:.................. i year's worth of checks, receipts and other papers to
T.4".R~fII!lAA ............. ,..... ,... :MK.~H~!I. J:i!( R~f~"" ................. :......$I.Q!l..!!Q.. :................ "1'I,Ii
find everything you need for your tax return.
t9i.~~: ~~~:iji.VN~:::::: :::: :::~::: ::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~:::::: 1i:q9.~9:: I::::
At tax time, you'll be surprised at how much
ii~ii~;d~:~::::::::::::::::::::~~\~~:t~:,;:(~:~f::::::::: :::::::i::::::~~i:.~~::C::::::::::::::: i;I,' you'd have forgotten had you failed to enter your
..................................... :~l.~,.T~.l!.(~~1;~~.I.~~L .......... :....... $.~..~:;!.. :.................. 'I'l f data year-round. And you'll be ready to hit Form
1040 A & B with all of your tax information at
::i::
hand,
in well-organized form. You won't even have
..................................... :R~tl.~~f~,.nm'.•) ................... :.....t .9.Q!l•.!!o.. :.................. I';f to fmd all those receipts and checks, because
::~::~::::::I:~:~:~::::::::::~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::l::::~::::::~:·:l:~:: ::;:i everything you need to know will be printed neatly
~
T'OT;,"j:'" '"t''' 0..·.. ·····..·..·;~~,r.~t(TP.~~.Ytr.~), ................ :......H~..~~..;........ :i; 4'8'" /'1 on your final Mac-made tax worksheet!
j:I:1
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l1lItr.-J:ql".~A(~~'~.n ........... :......................................... :................. :..........1'.-l!O..
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _::.................
____-2..._____
",Ii ,i,:, '" ,'.', fl I:!:I ,,'. i.i:~:~~~t;~~.::·:::!:·:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.:::·:::::~:::·::.:::::::::·1:::::·:~:.S.lt lliiJ
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:
Washington Apple Pi . :
March 1986
II 47
~.,,'.~
Softviews
David
Morganstein
...
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Tax Pro 1985 (Tom Gross, WAP member). By the time
you read this, there will be less than 45 days till your taxes
are due. If you are like me and, I surmise, most of the rest of
the tax payers of this nation, you have yet to begin the
arduous process of pulling the numbers from among folders of
receipts and scraps of paper. (If you are one of the lucky few
who warrant a large refund, you may have completed your
forms on January 2. Why let them have all the interest!!!) If
you have not filled in the forms and added up the numbers,
you may find some pleasure in Tom Gross' spreadsheets.
While the tough time of doing taxes is in the assembly of the
information, simplifying the drudgery of completing the
forms makes the whole activity a bit less tedious. No, I didn't
justify the puchase of my computer on the argument that it
can do my taxes for me...
Created in either Multiplan for the Apple II (OOS version)
or Multiplan, Excel or Jazz for the Macintosh, the most
commonly used forms are available for easy entry and comple
tion. The forms are linked together aggregating numbers from
one form to another, as required. If you use the CP/M version
of Multiplan on the Apple II, it should be possible to convert
tJle file from one operating system to the other and access it
directly in CP/M. In addition to the Tax Tables, Tom has
included the following forms: 1040, 2106 (Emp. Business
Expense), 2441 (Child Care), 3903 (Moving Expense), 6251
(Alternative Min. Tax Computation). His package contains
the following schedules: A-E, G, W and SE.
POIjO I 012
IRS fORM 1040--1985
1985 Chosepooko Son..,,,o All Rights Ro ••rved
rIlll1G STATUS
1-5 ,.,1"911 2~Jolnt 3.aeporot. 40 hoed S.",ldw(lr)
on CoPvrlghl
EX[MPTIONS [ntlr "I" for ooc:htatogorV bel.... thot oppll•• to 'IOu 6 Youro.1f
._________ 6Sorovlr .....__ ..____ BlInd.... . Spou..
65 or ovor
Blind.... .. Numb.r of thlldron piUiOfhor depondenb-:-:-.~· - - -
7
1kl:OM[ Weges, sohrles, tip., .tt 8
9.
9b
9t
10
Inte,,"I1r.:oml (Schedul. B If DVor S400) ..... .. Dividendo (Use Sch. B Ifovor S400).9.
htluslon............................ 9b
[lIglble Olvldend Incomo....................... ,
Rofunds of Stot. Gnd loeollncomo t.x............. ..
o
o
The forms are very easy to use. Tom has locked the
sheets and protected them so th<lt you can not inadvertently
change the formulas he has built. An added advantage is that
the Enter key moves the cursor between only those cells
which require input from you, skipping over cells containing
instructions and internal computations.
Since this review was written more than a month ago, I
have not yet completed my taxes with Tom's spreadsheets. I
can not vouch for the package's accuracy. Whenever you use a
program to perform the final stages of computation, it is wise
to check the numbers one last time before mailing in the
returns. (I used Tax Wizard last year, did not check the
numbers and got a $50.00 correction notice from the IRS...in
their favor, of course.)
What can you say about a tax package beyond its accu
racy? First as to documentation, Tom includes a MacWrite
file on the disk. The file printed out to 13 pages, one of
which was a Table of Contents and another of which was an
evaluation form. There was no Index. I felt the manual to be
a bit lean and recommended expansion in certain areas. Tom
said his approach was to keep the price low and he felt there
were ample low-cost tax guides which could be used in
conjunction with the package to help you work your way
through the forms.
The other issue might be support. Tom does not do taxes
for a living. He is an attorney for the government. He indi
cated a willingness to handle questions and problems should
they arise. The manual tells the owner to contact Tom
immediately if a problem is detected. My experience suggests
that most users of spreadsheets would have little need of sup
port other than an accuracy problem. I did not see a statement
in the manual indicating any legal liability on his part. If it
is wrong, the IRS is going to discuss the numbers with you,
not Tom. I think that situation is true with other tax
packages for personal computers.
Tax Pro, Chesapeake Software, 236 Maryland, ave., N.E.,
Suite A, Washington, D.C., 20002. Phone (202) 546-5994.
Price $44.95 (Special to WAP members $39.95 ...say David
sent you...)
4Paint (Bill Mosby) MacPaint users, while thrilled with
the tremendous potential of the Mac as a graphics machine,
have found that there are important things which MacPaint
can not do easily. Bill Mosby's utility is a separate program
which creates MacPaint readable files. With 4Paint. you can
draw and manipulate many shapes in a full-screen mode which
are not provided by MacPaint You can save the file and enter
MacPaint where the finishing touches can be applied.
In particular, 4Paint allows you to draw curves not in
MacPaint (e.g. parabolas and arcs) and then rotate and reshape
them. It lacks text or fill capability, but those features are
already in MacPaint. Objects can be grouped and rotated
together.
In the picture below, you see a curve which began as a
symmetric parabola. I have stretched it in various directions
and rotated it using the three types of "handles", the shaper,
mover and rotator/sizer. The shapes can be created on a full
page screen and the final product saved as a standard Mac
Painting. 4Paint provides several shape elements including a
straight line, a rectangle and a round rectangle and a circle (or
partial circle).
contd.
48
Cf----' ~
SHAPER HANDLE
•
several cautions most of which make sense to Painter's Helper
#1 users and those already experienced with 4Paint. There is a
caveat that suggests you come back to the Cautions later.
Bill Mosby's name may be familiar to a number of Mac
Paint users. He is the author of Painter's Helper #1, a share
ware offering provided on a WAP library disk. Bill indicated
he knows of WAP because we are one of the few clubs whose
members sent him payment for their shareware. Originally,
Bill had planned 4Paint as Helper #2, another shareware
offering. but changed his mind when the payments for #1 were
so sparse. He is hoping that making 4Paint a commercial
product will return enough of his investment in Mac
programming to keep him going. His wife is supporting his
efforts to get a software business on solid foundation but Bill
tells me that sales are very slow.
If you are a heavy user of MacPaint, there is a good chance
that 4Paint may help you do things you have been unable to
do easily. Reas'nable Software, 779 Eleventh St., Idaho
Falls, 10. 83401. Phone (208) 529-0378. Price $39.95. @
MOVER HANDLE
RDTATDRISIZDR HANDLE
Other useful options include: rotation to an almost infinite
degree, snapping (aligning) objects to a grid, layering objects
and grouping objects. The line thickness can be scaled up or
down. The handles you see above can be temporarily hidden
to permit viewing of the fmal product. X andlor Y grids can
be added to the display with user specified spacing for the grid
lines.
I found the 37-page manual to be full of suggestions and
help. Beside a quick walk-thru tutorial, it contains a menu by
menu reference section and a technical description of the
4Paint data files for programmers. The manual began with
••• • ..:.• '.•'. .•••••
9 AM To 9 PM
7 Days A Week
By Appointment Only Rush Jobs And Overnight Service Available. • This Is Our Only
Business
No more relying on computer
stores for your printing. No more
worrying about being asked to stop
printing or to leave at 5 PM.
u\::'luCID©"i?
u ~~
IJ'CID[}Durku_W
r.I r.1
Laser Printing Service
For The Macintosh
...What are the advantases... $1.00 Per Page Average
(Actual Cost Based On Processing time)
Discounts for long documents
• Customer Service Help for the first time LaserWriter
user. Consulting available for
those considering the purchase
of a Desktop Publishing System.
• 400k • aOOk • 10Meg Bernoulli
• Send Disk By Mall • Walk In Service
• Send By Courier • By Modem
• More Laser Fonts
After the release of Adobe's new
LaserFonts we will have over 80
different faces for your selection.
• Screen Fonts
& LaserFonts
• LaserFonts (For LaserWriter Owners)
We are dealers for Adobe and Others
• Screen Fonts (For LaserWriter Users)
Various combinations of Screen Fonts ~m:'~" ,.lm\;i.~:~m..mJt~m;e.l\iLmamJsmlerl\iWmrmJitemlrmum~.smJerml;
.. . . . .
.
Washington Apple Pi • The LaserSampler II
Currently under production is the
new release of our popular Laser
Sampler. Over SO type faces in all
the Macintosh styles. $ S.95
•..••••. '.' .•:':'W.·:':'.·"""':':'.. ..:.:~~...:.:~.:.:...:.:~~:;::::::::::::w.~~S\
~.~
. . .,
r
Can For
Appoi.ntm nt
And Directions
7
V .lSA J424-3942
Rockville, MD
Coming Soon
Pro'essional CAD
Systen7For
The Macintosh
EZ-Oraft • Training and Support
• CAD Specialist available
• 256 Layers-Colors-Line Styles
:
~~~::r~r~~i~~ A to E
1
:;.
}
I
~.
~:
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• Dynamic Dimensioning
• IGES Compatible with main
II:~
J~~f~a~~~yS~:~:~mand
g~pidy~1n~~npe:~~I~!~nd line
Other Services
. bl
.
• Partially Removed lines
~:
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.l
~:;kB~~~~o~nspu~valla
Ed't'
d R f
CAI~n~Z~~raft ~o;~a~~a~ion
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;.1,:~. :.,:1
!.::.:.J.::.
• Symbols Library • And lots more!.......
.. .
.~m~mJ :ow"~"l\iit ~m~-=ow.~ow
m"("CmJ"':':m;':~l\i':m'~'mJ': :~l\i'~ : l\i~: :,m:.~ ,w:.~ ~;il iti :W~: ~ : $~: ;:':~: $: :;'w.m: : !w! ~ ~'~r:~ ID7m: : r*m l: :J
ow$owSm·°mJ°owamdmimJskow·Wt.ilmJ.·.·.OW.·.:.·.OW· .. ...now....P
.....mm
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....
March 1986
49
HFS FOLLIES UPDATE
by Tom Warrick
In last month's issue we discussed programs with prob
lems running under the new Macintosh Hierarchical File
System ("HFS"). This month we have updated infonnation as
to what works and what doesn't. As expected, virtually all
software publishers have released or are releasing updates to
their products to correct the problems they had under HFS.
Life is never simple, however, and Apple's announcement of
the Macintosh Plus has added a few more programs to the list
of things that don't work.
Andy Hertzfeld has written a program called HFS.fix,
which says when you open the file, "This program will install
a resource in your system file that will patch the file system
'Open' command to make it try harder to find a file. It will
fmd a file no matter what folder it is in, thus making more
programs work with HFS." This program solved the problem
with Edit. which would not let you open a document from any
folder using the Finder, but it is not a panacea. It will not
help Microsoft Word locate the Standard Glossary file, nor
will it help the TML Pascal compiler locate any of its
"Include" files in a folder other than the one in which TML
Pascal is located. Likewise, it will not find musical instru
ments in a folder different from the one that Concertware+
3.0's Player is in. Nor, for that matter, will it let Edit
transfer directly to TML Pascal using the Transfer menu.
Click-On Worksheet: Get version 1.3.
Copy n Mac and Copy n Hard Disk: Version 4.51 is
available for $18.00 to registered owners from Central Point
Software, Inc., 9700 SW Capitol Highway, Suite 100,
Portland, Oregon 97219, (503) 244-5782.
Get version 1.33 from
DiskInfo desk accessory:
CompuServe or, soon, from a SigMac disk. Version 1.33
fully supports HFS and has additional capabilities, including
the ability to rename files. This is one of the most useful
desk accessories around, and it's shareware: For heaven's
sake, if you haven't already sent in your money, do so
immediately. Send $10 (or mort:, to encourage author David
Dunham to do more) to Maitreya Design, P.O. Box 1480,
Goleta, California 93116.
Fedit: Version 3.5, which provides support for HFS, is
available only to registered users of this shareware disk and
file utility. Become one; it's worth it.
Finder: Version 5.1 is now the latest. Apple warned
users not to run Finder 5.0 on floppy disks; that caveat seems
to have been relaxed with 5.1, because now the only advice is
not to use Finder 5.1 on 128K Macs (although it appears to
work fine under Switcher). Finder 5.1 should be free from
your Apple dealer.
Font/DA Mover: Version 3.0 is now the latest version.
It should be free from your Apple dealer.
Mac C by Consulair: Version 4.5 either is now or soon
will be available.
MDS (Macintosh Development System, the 68000
assembler from Apple) will be revised to work with HFS, but
not for a few weeks or months. Note that the four-byte patch
50
published here last month for Link may also work on Edit and
Asm.
MacSpell+ is now up to version 1.10. Our law fum
received the revision but it still gives erratic bombs for no
apparent reason.
Mock-series desk accessories (not reported in the February
issue) have been revised to work with HFS.
OverVUE: Get version 2.Od.
Quick & Dirty Utilities #1 will be revised to work with
HFS, but Dreams of the Phoenix does not know when the
update will be available or how much it will cost. Quick &
Dirty Utilities #2, a disk of 25 programs that was released last
week, does work with HFS, according to a DOTP spokes
person.
Red Ryder: As we reported in the last issue, version 7.0
works with HFS. Unfortunately, version 7.0 does not work
with the Mac Plus. Scott Watson is working on version 8.0,
which will be out in a few weeks.
Scrapbook File: Version 2.0 is required to work with
System 3.0 (see below). It should be free from your Apple
dealer.
System: Version 3.0 is the latest. It should be free from
your Apple dealer. Note that you need the new Scrapbook
File, which comes on the same disk.
SideKick: Version 1.1 is now available for $19.95 from
Borland. Write to Borland at 4585 Scotts Valley Drive,
Scotts Valley, California 95066, (408) 438-8400. If you
purchased SideKick before December 15, 1985, this price
includes PhoneLink, which allows you to dial calls automat
ically if you don't have a modem. If you purchased SideKick
after December 15, the upgrade is free. This revision also
contains a number of important feature enhancements that
most users will want to acquire. You can now dial through a
Hayes-compatible modem (tone or pulse) or through PhoneLink. The Calculator+ desk accessory now has a % key. The
size of the notepad in Notepad+ is user-selectable, and the
program remembers the size you selected. There is an option
in QuikSheets for a column containing dollars. The PhoneBook has been refonnatted to include larger state and zip code
fields as well as country fields. The PhoneBook can sort
entries by company name and category, and the infonnation
can be copied to the clipboard. ReadiPrint has been updated to
include an optional page header and support for Epson and the
HP Thinklet printers.
If anyone has any additions to this list, please let us know
by writing or leaving a message for me on System 2 of the
WAPBBS.
®
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
r--..,
LEGAL TIME REPORTING ON THE MAC by Rosemary
Connelly
.~.
Last year I was startled to hear a lawyer friend of mine
complain that her Mac was no use in her law practice.
"I think I should sell my Mac and buy a PC," she was
saying. "There's no good software for the Mac."
"What do you need to do?" I asked.
"Well, take time slips for example," she said. "Right now
I fill them out every day by hand. At the end of the month
my secretary sorts them by client and matter, totals them and
transcribes them into individual client reports. It's difficult for
me to get a summary in the middle of the month and my sec
retary often has problems reading my writing."
"Have you tried Microsoft File?" I asked.
"Yes, but it was too simple. I really need a relational
database, like Helix. But I'm not even sure Helix could do the
job."
I pondered over her dilemma for a few days, borrowed a
copy of Helix to see if it would indeed solve her problem, and
formulated a plan.
Attorneys need to keep track of their time to the nearest
tenth of an hour, which can lead to stacks of time slips. If
they have to boot a program every time they want to fill out a
time slip, attorneys will leave it to the end of the day or the
end of the week - by which time they've forgotten what they
did. So I decided that any computerized time reporting sys
tem should be on-line all the time.
Enter Switcher. With Switcher you can run a database
program all day and at the same time do word processing or
telecommunications or whatever else you need to do. At the
click of a mouse you can call up a blank time slip. When
you have filled it out you just click back to whatever you
were doing before.
I rejected Helix on three grounds. First it took just too
long to boot. Secondly, it took too much memory to work
comfortably with Switcher and Microsoft Word. And thirdly,
the early version I tested had no subtotaling capability.
The database program I settled on was Microsoft File. It
runs comfortably in 256K, response time is fast and it's easy
to use. I know it lacks relational database capabilities, but I
get around some of its shortcomings by using Microsoft Word
and the Word Glossary to edit and embellish reports. More on
that later. The input form I designed looks like this:
Date:
Comments:
Client Name:
Client No:
Hours:
Matter
Time Slip Form
The law firm assigns a unique four-digit Client Number to
every client and matter. At the end of the month each attorney
submits a breakdown of his or her time by Client Number.
Since it is time-consuming for attorneys to type the name of
Washington Apple Pi
the client and the matter on each time slip, (to say nothing of
the spelling errors that can creep in), only the unique Client
Number has to be recorded.
When my friend needs to fill out a time slip now she just
clicks on the Switcher arrow and fills in the Date, Client
Number, Hours and Comments.
She can memorize her
most frequently used numbers or keep a list of codes taped to
her Mac. Failing that, there is room for her to type in the
client name and matter as a memory jogger - so long as she
puts in the right Client Numbers before the reports are gen
erated (Helix, incidentally, has a wonderful table lookup
feature that would be useful here. As soon as you type a
Oient Number, for example, it can look up the relevant Name
and Matter in a table and display them on the screen so you
can be sure you have the right Number.)
At the end of the month, records can be sorted and totaled
by Client Number. Part of the summary report for the fmn's
Accounting department might look like this:
&
2469
3391
8863
Hr.sa
15.6
20.2
5.5
If this report is saved as a text file, it can be opened in
Microsoft Word and expanded using the Glossary. The Glos
sary is set up beforehand with all the Client Numbers and
their respective Names and Matters. So, by clicking directly
after each number in the flfSt column, typing backspace and
adjusting the tabs as necessary, the report becomes:
&
2469
3391
8863
Matter
lImla
Apple Computer WarrantyLegislation 15.6
Radio Shack
Copyright Issues
20.2
IBM
Software Licensing
5.5
tiilm
This approach may be the poor cousin to a relational
database, but it's simple and effective.
Hourly totals and subtotals, of course, can be computed
and printed by File. Also, fields within a time slip can be
computed. For example, one hidden field on the Time Slip
input form is a billing field This field is computed by
multiplying the hours by a constant billing rate. If clients
want a complete breakdown of their bills, the hours and dollar
amounts can be printed on their reports along with all the
attorney's comments from the individual time slips.
It would be great if the next version of Microsoft File
included some relational database features such as a table
lookup function. And it would be great if memory and hard
disks get so cheap that we can run more than one large
program concurrently. But, given our present resources, I
believe the Macintosh functions as a very efficient legal tool,
just as it is!
@
March 1986
51
'EXCEL'ing WITH YOUR MAC David Morganstein
409
482
475
1.5
2.7
513
2.3
571
458
3.0
564
3.0
Entering these as two columns in the spreadsheet produces
the following display in Excel:
so-
A
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
I
16
18
20
=SER IESC-Freshmen Grllde Pot nt- ..Worksheetll$C$2:$C$2
;0
A
ChartS
3.4
3.2
.
3.0
2.9
~:~
•
2.2
•
2.0
1.9
1.6
1.4 ........._ _ _ _ _
•
•
o
2
• •
•• ~
•
4
9
~
••
•
•
•
•
_____
6
r
10
12
14
16
_
2.4
3.4
1.4
3.2
o
This "scatter" chart looks to me a lot like a simple line
chart without the lines. Excel has merely plotted the two
series against their row number, rather than one against the
other as a Scatter chart would provide. Fortunately, there is a
simple way to get what we want through steps not described
in the Excel documentation.
Returning to the spreadsheet, select only the Grade Point
averages, a single variable. Open a New Chart and change its
format to scatter. These steps yield a chart with the Y-axis
value equal to the Grade Point average but with equally spaced
categories representing the order of the rows, not the SAT
scores. Point to one of the plotted dots and click on it. As
you see in the following screen shot, the point turns into a
white circle, and a description of the series appears at the top
of the screen. SERIES has four parameters, three of which
appear in our example and one of which is blank. The frrst
parameter provides the plotted series title (in our case
"Freshmen Grade Point"). The third parameter defines the
vertical axis, the y-values. In our case, we are plotting grade
point averages found in Column C, rows 2 through 20 from
Worksheet 1 (In Excel terms, Worksheetl!$C$2:$C$20,
meaning from cell C2 to C20). The fourth parameter is the
plot order of the series. The plot order applies to multiple
series charts, that is, when there is more than one vertical
value for each category.
.
1.8
3.0
3.0
3.3
2.2
1.9
100
.
523
460
446
564
2.2
200
.
571
501
493
547
436
300
.
2.2
2.8
599
400
•
•
•
•
•• •• • •• • •
•
•
1
572
Grade Point
500
.
2.5
••••
-
~nen
599
600
.
SAT Score
Following the very short description of the Scatter Chart
option found in the Excel manual, the natural inclination
would be to select the two columns of numbers, and pull
down the File menu, clicking on New, Chart. The default
chart is a bar chart so an additional step is needed. From the
Graph menu select Scatter. The results, as you can see below,
are not the desired scatter plot.
L
Have you tried using a Scatter Chart format with Excel?
If so, you may have been surprised at the results. (I was...)
They are not what I expected; although, with a little
experimenting I stumbled upon the desired plot. Unfortu
nately, the manual did not explain how to obtain a scatter
plot, even though the scatter format appears as an option in
the graph gallery.
For those not familiar with this type of graph, a scatter
chart is a two-dimensional plot of points where the x
coordinate of each plotted point is the value of one variable
and the Y -coordinate is the value of another. Say for example,
you are interested in the relation between SAT test scores and
success in College, as measured by Freshmen grade point
averages (or any other pair of variables e.g. height vs. weight,
speed of an operation and the quality of the resulting product,
etc.) A useful preliminary step in understanding the two
variables is to construct a scatter plot. For the frrst example,
each point would represent one person for whom we have both
the SAT score and their frrst year grade point average.
Making up an example, we have the following pairs of
numbers:
~
by
............
19
20
contd.
52
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
Oh, yes, I forgot the second parameter, the one left blank
in our example. The second parameter identifies the category
variable. When it is blank, Excel uses a sequential number,
starting with 1 for the first value as you can see on the hori
zontal axis of the graph. If we move the cursor up to the edit
area and enter for the second parameter: "Worksheet
1!$B$2:$B$20", look what happens to the graph. A "real"
scatter p!ot of grade point as the Y-axis, against SAT scores
as the X-axis, appears. (For additional information about the
Series command and how to use it, see the Excel User's
Guide, pp161-163.)
limitation. Let us say you had four time trial results on the
speed of several runners. It would be useful to enter the data
as one column of names and one column of results and then
scatter plot the times against the names. Unfortunately, the
character labels for the X-axis categories are converted to
numbers. If the same name appears twice, it will result in a
separate category, rather than a second point plotted above the
name, as you can see in the following chart.
d." -_ ....._._ _
Freshmen Grade Point
3.4
3.2
3.0
2.8
2.6
2.4
2.2
2.0
1.8
1.6
1.4
•
7
6
•
•
• • • •• •
•
•
•
• •
.......,::I......I----6--.....--..:.~-"'-__I-_-_+_-+__
400 420 440 460 480 500 520 540 560 580 600
The book "Excel in Business" by Douglas Cobb,
published by Microsoft, contains an alternative method which
seems to do the job as well. Cobb suggests selecting the two
columns and doing a Copy to the clipboard. After opening a
New Chart, issue a Paste Special command. You will see the
following Dialog Box.
t
OK
..
3
~
t
2
•
•
,
oj
:s
6
7
8
9
scatter plot without the descriptive labelling. Now you can
add text containing the names onto the chart, overwriting the
numeric labels. In the chart below, I have cheated and placed
the text "Bob" and "Fred" over the numeric category values 2,
and 3. Note the category label" 1" has not yet been manually
overwritten.
Workshe
~I
3.
( cancel)
•
2f
,.
1
All.n
in First Column
:s
•
•
If you convert the names to numbers (e.g. Allen = I, Bob
= 2, etc.), as I have done in column B, you get the desired
II
Choose Categories in First Column and click on OK.
What you get is a bar chart of Grade Point plotted against
SAT scores as Categories (which were in the first column of
the selected area.) Now select the Scatter format from the
Gallery. Voila! The second method, suggested by Cobb, may
be easier but the first taught me something about the Series
command and how to use it
What befuddles me is why all this is necessary. Excel
clearly indicates it can do a Scatter chart; unfortunately, doing
the "obvious" does not produce the desired result. More to the
point, I have not been able to find anything in the manual
which explains how to obtain a scatter plot, even though the
chart menu includes the scatter plot option. The Scatter
reference section, page 274, is of no help.
As a fmal note, let me observe that Excel only allows you
to scatter plot two numeric variables. This is an unfortunate
Washington Apple Pi
• •
2
181 Series Names in First Row
~ Categories
•
:s
,
Paste Special
Ualues in ---,
QRows
@ Columns
•
9
8
•
•
•
•
•
.-11-.
:B~b: ~
FrM
Excel is a powerful program with tremendous potential.
When combined with your word processor using Switcher,
you can accomplish a great deal in short order. However, you
may fmd that for certain tasks, a bit of research and
experimenting may be needed to supplement the Excel
documentation.
@
March 1986
53
¥~§9Pi~I~K ~pp~~ ~0~~ A SLICE OF THE WASHINGTON APPLE PI
OFFICERS & CHAIRMEN
HOTLINE MEMBERS
President
Vice President
Secretaryrrreasurer
Librarian
Program Chainnan
Newsletter Editor
Newsletter Chainnan
SIG MAC Chainnan
SYSOP
Lynn R. Trusal
Scott Galbraith
Kurt Holter
Bruce Taylor
-
Scott Galbraith
John Lee
Bruce Taylor
Tony Svajlenka
John Lee
Kathy Kenyon
Lynn R. Trusal
Lynn It Trusal
Scott Galbraith
- (301) 845-2651
- (301) 865-3035
- (301) 663-4199
- (301) 371-6181
The above members of the "Frederick Apple Core" (PAC)
have agreed to field questions on Apple computer hardware and
software for FAC members. Please no calls after 10:00 PM.
The Frederick Apple Core meets the second Thursday of
each month in the large conference room of the U.S. Army
Medical Research Institute of Inft:ctious Diseases, Ft Detrick,
Frederick, MD 21701-5011 at 7:30 PM.
The SIG MAC of the Frederick Apple Core meets on the
fourth Tuesday of each month in the same location and at the
same time. MAC owners in the local area are welcome. Call
Lynn R. Trusal at (301) 845-2681 for details.
SIG MAC llpcomjD!: Prouams March 25
- Color Plotting with the Mac April 22
- LaserWriter Printer 1'pepmiD!: Prp!:rams March 13
- Program to be announced April 10
- Program to be announced MICROSOFT EXCEL: A Review
by Lynn
R. Trusal (Frederick Apple Core)
As an avid Multiplan user since the early days of
Macintosh, I have always looked forward to a more sophisti
cated spreadsheet and wondered why Microsoft did not come
out with a revised version of one of the earliest Macintosh
programs. Just prior to the deadline for this article, MicroSoft
announced version 1.1 of Multiplan. The new Multiplan sup
ports multiple worksheets, more fonts and font sizes, seven
additional financial functions and a "go to" page command.
This version will cost $195 list and owners of Multiplan 1.0
can upgrade for $25. Even this revision will not be enough
for power spreadsheet users and this brings me to Excel.
Shortly before the release of Jazz by Lotus Development,
Microsoft made a surprise announcement of a new program
called Excel. They had evidently been working on it for over
two years in much secrecy, which is surprising in the software
and hardware development market. Word of most programs
leaks out from internal sources and beta-testers long before a
program appears. Therefore, I looked forward to using Excel.
Having bought both Chart and Multiplan, I took advan
tage of Microsoft's upgrade policy and was able to purchase
Excel for $100. H you were not able to do so before
December 31, 1985, it is available from wholesale mail order
houses for about $225, which is reasonable for a program that
includes an integrated spreadsheet, database and graphics
program. I will discuss each of these programs and compare
54
two of them to Multiplan and Chart
Excel is supplied with three disks; a data disk, a program
disk and one back-up program disk. The data disk contains the
System folder, Switcher 4.5, macro files, sample documents,
and hard disk install while the program disk contains the
program and a "Resume Excel" flIe. The "resume" icon will
automatically open all the flies that you had on the desk top
the last time you quit Excel and may be saved as a distinct
resume file. Separate "resume flies" can be saved and even
transferred between disks. The only limitation is the amount
of free space on the program disk (10K) for saving these
icons. I found this to be a unique and excellent feature of
Excel. It enables you to group specific files together to be
opened when the "resume Excel" icon is opened.
As might be expected, at least a 512K Macintosh is
required and two disk drives. The spreadsheet has more than
16,384 rows and 256 columns. If you ever tried to fill it, you
would run out of memory and it would slow to a crawl.
Needless to say, it is the largest and most sophisticated
spreadsheet for microcomputers today.
Excel may be installed on certain hard disks but you can
run the "install" program only once off each master program
disk. The manual says that you cannot run "install" on a
copy of the master disk. Theoretically, you can use the back
up program disk to run "install" again but this is not a
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
,,-....,.
'"-'
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~
satisfactory solution as far as I am concerned. Hard disks are
known for their tendency to crash and a one-time install
option is hardly satisfactory.
The Excel main manual is a 365-page, loose-leaf format
and covers all major aspects of the three programs. Also
included is a 207-page bound manual covering the use of
arrays, functions, and macros. In addition, there are short
manuals dealing with the use of Switcher with Microsoft ap
plications (21 pages) and a Quick Reference Guide (20 pages)
covering the major points for each application. If you add up
the pages, you realize there are 613 pages of documentation
supplied with Excel. That sounds rather intimidating and
brings back memories of IBM documentation rather than Mac
intosh. If you are familiar with Multiplan, you already know
much of the documentation and you should not let the overall
size intimidate you. Keep in mind that as Macintosh programs
get more sophisticated, more documentation will be necessary.
One of my most immediate concerns was compatibility of
existing Multiplan templates with Excel and the ease of
conversion. Not only does Excel accept Multiplan files (not
SYLK text files) but also Lotus 1-2-3 files, and Excel
documents can also be transferred to Lotus 1-2-3. I have also
been told that MicroSoft File text files can also be dumped
into Excel for manipulation by the database. To begin the
Multiplan transfer process, the data disk is booted in the
internal drive and the program disk in the external drive. By
ejecting the program disk and inserting the Multiplan disk, the
dialog box can be used to open an existing Multiplan me.
You will be required to do several disk swaps for the flfSt
converted file but subsequent Multiplan files are quickly
converted without disk swapping. Appendix C of the main
user manual explains that there are some differences between
Excel and Multiplan and that Excel converts as many
Multiplan attributes as possible. For example, Excel converts
formulas, values, formats, protections and names. I did not
experience any incompatibility or non-transferred attributes
with my existing Multiplan templates.
Excel Spreadsheet
Once I converted the Multiplan files, I began to find out
just how similar the two programs are. I was impressed with
the ability of Excel to have multiple documents open on the
desk-top and quickly switch between them by using the
"Window" menu item. It does not have multitasking capabil
ity but this was the next best thing.
For those of you who often make extensive modifications
to templates once they are laid out and were frustrated by
Multiplan's copying and pasting routine, you will be pleas
antly surprised by Excel. With Multiplan, I was never very
successful at selecting a "paste" area the exact size of the
"copy" area and usually ended up with a dialog box informing
me so. With Excel you only need select the upper-left cell of
the "paste" area and Excel will do the rest A number of cells
may be copied with the "Cut" command and pasted again by
selecting the upper-left cell for pasting. With this technique,
it is very easy to completely rearrange a spreadsheet in a
matter of minutes. Use of the "Cut" command also preserves
the correct cell references for existing formulas. Unlike
Multiplan and most Macintosh applications, the "Cut and
Copy" commands do not function like you may be used to.
"Cut" is used to move parts of the spreadsheet to a new
location with preservation of cell references but "cut" items do
not remain on the clipboard after "paste". For this purpose
the "copy" command should be used.
In Multiplan, alignment commands could be assessed from
the keyboard such as the "centering command", but in Excel it
is necessary to go to a pull down menu and choose the "align
ment" option followed by selection of the "centering" com
mand. Although this is annoying, it is easy to set up macro
commands to complete "centering", "bold", and the "dollar"
formats among others.
The ability to create macros is one of the major features of
Excel and is not found in the current version of Jazz. Excel
comes with a series of "Command" and "Function" macros
but the user may set up new ones to their heart's delight Be
cause this is an important part of Excel, I will take a minute
to explain the basic process of setting up a "macro".
If you wished to use the "bold" command, you would go
to the "Format" menu and click on two sub menus each time
you wanted to use "bold". If you wish to create a "macro" for
the "bold" command you would do as follows: Go to the
"File" menu and select "new". When the dialog box appears
you choose "macro" and are presented with a new "macro
worksheet". Then go to the "Macro" menu and select "set
recorder". From this point on your steps are automatically
recorded by Excel. Go to the "Format" menu and choose
"style" which presents you with a dialog box. Choose "bold"
and hit "return." Now go to the "Macro" menu and click on
"stop recorder." Now complete the setup of the "bold" macro
by going to the "Formula" menu and clicking on "derme
names." You will be presented with a dialog box asking you
to name your newly created macro (I suggest using "bold") and
to choose the "option-command" key that you will use to
access the macro from the keyboard. I suggest using a lower
case letter since Excel does not recognize the "Caps Lock" key
for macros and you will have to depress the "Shift-Option
Command" keys in addition to your assigned key for the
macro to function. Now save the macro by using the "save
as" command under the "File" menu. This may sound
complicated but it is really not, and this is about as basic as
you will ever get to set up a macro. Excel gives examples of
very complex macros that you can set up and the possibilities
are only limited by the user's imagination. Figure 1 is an
example of three simple macros I have set up to access "bold",
"centering" and the "dollar" format
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contd.
Washington Apple Pi March 1986
55
One feature offered in Excel that has not previously been
available in microcomputer spreadsheets is the use of "arrays".
Excel is the fIrst spreadsheet program that accepts and uses
"arrays" as arguments and produces "arrays" as results. What
is an "array?" you say. The Excel manual explains them this
way. "In worksheets without arrays, most functions and all
operators accept only single values as arguments. However,
there are times when it would be much simpler and faster to
build a formula whose operations produced multiple values as
results. An array is a collection of single values organized
into a rectangle with a specifIed number of rows and columns.
Therefore, you can accomplish with one formula what
previously required many separate formulas."
The speed of recalculation is another area where Excel is
superb. If you are used to see the rippling effect of recalcula
tion with Multiplan, you will wonder if Excel is recalculating
at all. As soon as I entered a new value and hit the "return"
key, the bottom line was recalculated. The speed of Excel is
due to recalculation of only those cells that are dependent on
the changed cells. The entire spreadsheet (i.e. all cells) is
never recalculated. Of course the larger the worksheet, the
slower recalculation will become.
Another useful feature of Excel is a "go to" command so
that you can quickly jump to a new area of the spreadsheet
This is particularly useful when multiple templates are set up
on different areas of one worksheet This was not available in
Multiplan.
Some of the differences between Excel and Multiplan are
diagrammed below:
Inserting Rows
Multlplap
ElW
Use "Shift" key
Click on row or col.
Insert Command (menu)
Cell References Uses RICI format
Uses RICI or Al style
User selected
Formatting Nos. Uses dermed formals
Can do custom formats
Aligning Values Access from keyboard
Access from Menu
Use key macros
Text
Limited to plain text
Can use bold or italics
Borders
No border option
Can use borders around
one or more cells
Calculation
Recalculates whole
spreadsheet
Recalculates changed
values only
Use copy, paste and
separelC worksheets
Use external references
between multiple opened
worksheets on desk top
None
Extensive capabilities
Linking Sheets
link functions on
Arrays, Macros
The spreadsheet portion of Excel is clearly the best
spreadsheet that I have ever used, including VisiCalc and
Multiplan. The ability to open and link multiple documents
on the desktop, the ease of "cut and paste", the "go to"
command and the presence of macros makes the program a
pleasure to use.
Excel Chart
I had made extensive use of Microsoft's Chart for graphing
Multiplan data and most recently used Switcher to speed this
process. With Excel, I was surprised to learn how easy it is
to select data from the spreadsheet, pull down a menu and
select "chart" for a completed graph in a matter of seconds. If
you plan to graph data, it is important to take a few minutes
and layout the template to facilitate the process. Such factors
as the width and height of area to be graphed will determine
which columns will become "categories" or "series" or
"category and series names."
There are other minor differences between the original
Chart program and the charting capability of Excel. One such
difference is the movement of chart titles and legends.
Whereas Chart allows the user to position value and category
axes and legends anywhere in the chart area, the charting
portion of Excel does not. For instance, the legend may be
positioned on the top, bottom, right, or left side but it cannot
be positioned freehand as in Chart.
Resizing of the Chart is done by changing the size of the
active window or one of three options in the page set-up
menu, but you can not resize the output on the screen in the
same manner that Chart allowed you.
Charts may be linked to spreadsheet worksheets so that if
data are changed, the linked chart will be re-drawn auto
matically. All 42 charting options supported in Chart are also
found in the Excel version. This version should satisfy the
majority of users with basic graphics needs.
Excel Data Base
If you are a heavy data base user, you will probably not be
satisfied with the spreadsheet-oriented data base of Excel.
Excel's database functions largely as a means of sorting or
extracting data from your spreadsheet based on criteria that you
defme.
As with graphing, you will need to give some
thought to the worksheet layout of the data to simplify your
task. "Field names" are entered in one row of the worksheet
and "records" are entered in rows below the "field names." The
database range is then defmed and "sorting or extracting"
criteria are entered into an open area of the worksheet. "Cri
teria names" are placed in one row of the worksheet and "cri
teria" themselves are placed in rows below "criteria names."
You can keep several "criteria ranges" on the worksheet, and
define each one as you need to use them, but you can have
only one "criteria range" defined at a time. If you plan to use
the database to find, extract, or delete matching records, it is
best to set up "criteria range" in separate windows to speed the
selection process without need for scrolling. When you
choose the "Find" command, Excel finds a database record if it
matches criteria in one row of your "criteria range." Excel also
supports the use of "wild cards" for this purpose. Once you
find the desired information, you may copy and paste it into
another part of the worksheet by using the "extract" command.
The "sort" command can be used to sort rows or columns and
three levels of sorts are supported. This would enable you to
sort client records first by city and then by name.
All in all, the database portion of Excel is good for
applying database criteria to spreadsheet data which would
otherwise not allow such capabilities. It is not a heavy-duty
relational database. You will have to judge if it meets your
needs.
contd.
56
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
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MjscellaneQus Items
"preview" box of the "print dialog box." A reduced-size
version of the page appears on the screen and the exact
location of the print area is shown. A small "magnifying
glass" allows you to zoom in on a selected portion of the
print area to check on details before printing. It would be
even better to have the capability to "center" or "not center"
on the printed page.
@
I often found Multiplan's tendency to center on the printed
area an annoying feature. It was a feature that I sometimes
wanted to turn off but could not In Excel the chosen print
area is not automatically centered, and position on the paper is
determined by the margin options chosen. The final position
of the print area may be "previewed" by choosing the
USING EXCEL TO DO FEDERAL
INCOME TAXES
by Lynn
R. Trusal (Frederick Apple Core)
Now that I have reviewed the basics of Excel, you might
ask what you can do with it At this time of year, why not
do your federal and state income taxes with Excel. You might
also ask, "Why do your own taxes, let alone do them on a
spreadsheet?" My answer is, "Why not!" to both counts!
Most of the work in filling out tax forms is collecting the
necessary information and fmancial figures that are required.
Not even H&R Block can do this for you since you still have
to collect the necessary information for anyone who prepares
your taxes. If you do not have a complicated return and are
willing to familiarize yourself with the the tax rules then why
not do it yourself.
The next question is why not buy one of the existing tax
programs on the market for the Macintosh? There are at least
six commercial packages. Many of these programs give you
actual tax forms that you can print out on the printer and
which are acceptable to the IRS. I feel that they have several
major drawbacks. Tax forms change every year and even a
one-line change in a form will necessitate getting an update of
the program each year unless you can change the design of the
form yourself. In addition, each program gives you certain tax
forms, but no program gives you all the possible tax forms.
If your return is complex, you will not get all the forms that
you need, or you will be paying for forms that you will never
use. There is no telling how many of these companies will
be in business from year to year and why pay for updates
anyway? That is why I feel the use of a spreadsheet for tax
preparation is a better method. If the forms change from year
to year, you can easily modify the layout on the spreadsheet in
a matter of minutes. Therefore, I will describe how Excel can
be used to prepare your 1985 and subsequent taxes. Use of a
spreadsheet for tax preparation is probably only justified if
you itemize deductions and regularly fill out three or more tax
forms.
Since I did my 1984 federal income taxes with Multiplan,
I transferred templates containing the tax forms to Excel. In
Multiplan, I originally chose to put all of the needed tax
forms on one large worksheet to facilitate linking them
together, but I discovered that with Excel, it is just as easy to
use separate worksheets. This is due to Excel's ability to
have multiple worksheets open on the desktop and the ease of
linking them together. Figure 2 is an example of four sepa
rate tax worksheets on the desktop at the same time.
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Each is easily accessed by use of the "Window" pull-down
menu. Because the width of individual columns varies for
each tax form, it is easier to set up individual forms with
separate worksheets_ For tax forms such as Form 1040 and
Schedule A and B, only three columns are necessary, but
others such as Schedule 0 require 7 columns. In addition,
because Excel can link individual worksheets together for
calculation purposes, it is easy to use individual tax forms
rather than one large spreadsheet. Another advantage of using
separate forms comes during the "page set up" for printing.
Because Excel sets the page position based on the margins,
each tax form can have its own margins and page position. If
one large worksheet is used, this is impossible unless it can
be done with macro commands_ You can choose either meth
od but the use of separate worksheets has definite advantages_
Set up the worksheet as follows: For forms such as 1040,
type the "line number" in the fIrst column, the "text
description" in the second column, and "financial data" in the
third column_
Now set up individual cells in the third
column according to requirements of the actual tax form. For
the most part, addition. subtraction, and multiplication will be
all that will be required. If a particular cell requires that 60%
of line 5 be entered, hit the "=" key and click on the cell of
contd.
March 1986
57
line 5 followed by "·.60" (multiplication) and finish by
hitting the "enter" key. I am assuming that you are familiar
with spreadsheets and know how to use the math functions
that are provided. If the "paste function" is needed for other
math formulas such as "sum", choose "paste function" under
the "Formula menu." Instead of scrolling through the long
list, just type "s" and the dialog box will immediately display
all math or logic functions starting with an "s." This was not
a feature found in Multiplan.
I also make use of Excel's "bold" command to highlight
titles, subtitles, value totals, and other cells that depend on
another worksheet for their content.
You also have the
option of "italics " to further highlight cell differences. In
addition, Excel allows you to place a "border" around indi
vidual cells or a range of cells. This feature makes your
printed output look less like a spreadsheet if you don't use the
"print grid lines" option. The end result can be made to look
more like a published report than a spreadsheet Figure 3 is a
sample of "Schedule A" prepared by the above method. I do
not include lines on the tax forms that ask for written
information, such as your name, profession, etc.
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
II
12
13
14
15
16
17
III
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
B
A
SCHEDULE A - ITEMIZED DEDUCTIONS
PRESCRIPTION DRUOSIMEDICINES
LINE I
LINE 2A DOCTatS DENTISTS HOSPITAlS INSURANCE
LINE 28 TRANSPMTATIONAND LOOGINO
LINE 2C OTHER EXPENSES
LINE 3
ADO LINES I 2A 28 2C
LINE 4
MULTIPLY FatM 1040 LINE 33 8Y .05
LINE 5
TOTAL MED1CAl.IDEMTAl
STATE/LOCAL INCOME TAX
LINE 6
LINE 7
REAl. ESTATE TAXES
LINE 8A GENERAl SAlES TAX
LINE 88 GENERAl SAlES TAX (AUTOMOBILE)
OTHER TAXES (L1sn
LINE 9
LINE 10
TOTAl TAXES
LINE llA HOME MORTCWlE INTEREST
LINE 118 MatT(W3£ INTEREST PAID TO INDIVIDLW.S
LINE 12 CREDIT rARD INTEREST PAID
LINE 13 OTHER INTEREST PAlO (LIST)
LINE 13 OTHER INTEREST PAID (LIST)
LINE 13 OTHER INTEREST PAID (LIST)
LINE 14
TOTAl ItffEREST PAID
L1NEI5A CASH CONTRI8UT UlHS
LINE 158 CASH CONTRIBUTIONS) $3000
LINE 16 OT HER TWIN CASH IXlNTR18UTlaNS
LINE 17 CARRYOVER FROM PRIM YEARS
LINE 18
TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS
LINE 19
CASUALTYITHEFTLOS£S
LINE 20 PROFESSiONAl DUES PAID
LINE 21
TAX RETURN PREPEAATION FEE
LINE 22 OTHER DEDUCTIONS (LISTIAMOUNT)
LINE 23
TOTAl MISCELlANEOUS DEDUCTIONS
ADD LINES 5+ 10+ 14+ 18+ 19+ 23
LINE 24
LINE 25 FillNO STATUS SINGLE· S:?390)
LINE 26 LINE 24 MINUS LINE 25 (FORM 1040 LINE 34 A)
C
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"'MIA
$0.00
_$0.00
SO.OO
$0.00
_10.00
$0.00
SO.OO
SO.OO
SO.OO
_~O.OO
$0.00
$0.00
_S_O.OO
$0.00
$0.00
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SO.OO
#N/A
S2390.00
-MIA
Figur(! 3
Once you have laid out the necessary forms, you may
begin to link them together. For example, Schedule A, line
26, is the total of all "itemized deductions" and this value is
also placed on line 34A of Form 1040. This is accomplished
by opening Form 1040 and choosing the third column of line
34A as the "active cell." Hit the "=" key, open Schedule A,
and click on the cell representing the financial data for line 26.
This will be in the third column. Now hit the "enter" key.
Excel automatically links line 34A on Form 1040 with line
26 on Schedule A, even though they are on two separate
worksheets. You may link all of the separate tax forms in
this manner. The next time you use Excel, open one form
58
and then choose the "open links" command from the "File"
menu. Each linked worksheet will be opened on the desktop.
If you have saved the "resume Excel" under a unique name
such as "taxes", clicking on this icon will automatically open
all of the forms left on the desktop when you last quit Excel
regardless of whether they were linked or not
When printing the tax forms I usually choose to print the
"row and column" designations to facilitate using the "go to"
command found in Excel. This is particularly useful if you
choose to put aU of the tax forms on one large worksheet.
The tax tables themselves may also be entered on a sepa
rate worksheet so that every time you change a value on one
of your tax forms a new adjusted gross income figure will be
recomputed and the new "tax owed" figure determined. This
may be done as follows if you use the tax tables. Open a new
worksheet and set up a two column format. In the first
column, enter the income values from the tax booklet with
increments increasing by $50. You will need to use values
such as $16,OOO.(X)I· and $16,050.001 so that if your
adjusted gross income contains both dollars and cents it will
jump to the correct line value. You may use Excel's "series"
command in the "Data" menu to set this up automatically
without having to type in all the individual values. Enter
only that portion of the tax table that will bracket your
income for the past year and several years into the future. In
the second column, enter the appropriate "tax owed" based on
the category you use to file (i.e., single, married-filing
jointly, etc.). Make sure that you line up the two values
accurately. It is not possible to use the "series" command to
perform this entry since the "tax owed" values do not increase
in any linear manner. Each $50 increase in income may be an
$11, $13, or more increase in taxes owed. Any ideas out there
to do this more simply? Now go to Form 1040, line 38, and
hit the "=" key. Choose the "paste function" in the "For
mula" menu and select the "Lookup" option. Click on "OK"
which wiu return you to Form 1040. Now click on the value
on line 37 (taxable income) followed by a comma. Open the
worksheet containing the tax tables and use the mouse and
drag on the two columns that comprise the entire tax table.
Now hit "enter" and you will be returned to Form 1040 line
38. If you performed this correctly, you wiu see a "tax owed"
value on line 38 of Form 1040. Every time your adjusted
gross income figure changes, Excel wiu go to the tax table
and recompute the tax you owe and place it on line 38 of
Form 1040.
If you use the "Tax Rate Schedules" instead of the tax
tables your job is even simpler because less entries are
required. This same procedure can be used to enter "Optional
State Sales Tax Tables" or "Earned Income Tax Credit" tables.
Excel can also be used to design tax preparation work
sheets where miscellaneous tax data can be compiled and
stored in an organized manner. Such templates might include
worksheets for charity deductions, professional dues, and
business expenses including mileage. The values calculated
from these worksheets can be linked to the specific tax forms
that require them. If you also keep a budget or monthly record
of expenses, you can use some of the totals from this work
sheet to plug into some of your tax forms. For instance, if
you own a home and record mortgage interest as a budget
item, the total interest paid can be automatically linked to
Schedule A, line liA. If these worksheets are used periodi
contd. on pg 63
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
APPLE • SS/DD DISKS. BOX OF 10 ... 19.00
• SS/DD DISKS. CASE OF 50 . $89.50·
• 10 DISK STORAGE BOX . . . . .. 2.50
• 36 DISK STORAGE BOX . . . . .. 9.00
• COPY II MAC ............. 529.00· 51/. INCH DISKETTES & STORAGE
GRAPHICS DEVICES
• SS/DD. BOX OF 10 ......... $7.00· • SS/DD. PAK OF 50 ......... $31.00·
• SS/DD. CASE OF 100 ...... $59.00·
• SS/DD. CARTON OF 500 . .. $245.00·
.2·NOTCH/DS/DD. BOX OF 10. $8.00·
• 2·NOTCH/DS/DD. PAK OF 25. $18.50·
• POWER PAD &
STARTER KIT ............ $125.00
• 2·NOTCH1lSIDD. CASE OF 100 . $69.00·
• 10 DISKETTE CASES .. $2.25 EACH
5 for $10.00
(SPEaI'Y COt.OA CHOICES, BaGE. BUCK. &WE, GREEN,
CENTAURI 300 ..........
EASY DATA 1200 ........
US ROBOTICS 1200 .....
PROMETHEUS 1200A ....
US ROBOTICS 2400 .....
. $125.00
. $189.00·
. $219.00
. 5259.00 •
. 5419.00 •
•
•
•
•
•
CHIPS
•
•
•
•
EPROMS 2716/273212764 .... 54.00
EPROMS 27128/27256 ....... 57.00
64K. SET OF 6 . . . . . . . . . . . .. $9.60
256K. SET OF 8 . . . . . . . . . .. 530.00'
GENERAL ITEMS
GRl!Y.RED. YEU.OW;COOIJ'ACTCASI!S,CLEAR,SMCKE.AQUA)
• 70 DISK CASE ............ $11.00
• 70·DISKETTE LOCKING
ROLLTOP CABINET. . . . . . .. $16.00·
PRINTERS
• PANASONIC Pl091 .......
• PANASONIC P1092 .......
• CITIZEN 1200 ............
• CITIZEN MSP·l0. 160 CPS.
• CITIZEN MSp·15. WIDE ....
• CITIZEN MSp·20. 200 CPS .
• SILVER REED 500. LQ ....
• STARWRITER Al0·30 .....
• TOSHIBA Pl340 OOTILETTER.
.OKIMATE 20 COLOR. . . . ..
$259.00
$339.00·
$199.00
$259.00·
$379.00·
5349.00·
5209.00·
$339.00·
$449.00
$209.00·
PRINTER ACCESSORIES
.2500 SHEETS OF PAPER ... $31.00
• STANDARD PARALLEL
INTERFACE .............. 549.00
• GRAPHICS PARALLEL
INTERFACE CARD. . . . . . . .. 559.00
• FINGERPRINT PUSH·BUTTON
GRAPHICS CARD ........ $109.00
• MICROFAZER BUFFER. . .. $139.00
• PRINTER STAND .......... $14.00
• SWITCH BOX 3 PARALLEL
OR 3 SERIAL PORTS ...... 549.00·
• SURGE PROTECTOR ..... $7.00
• SURGE PROTECTOR,
3 OUTLET . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $11.00
• 6·0UTLET POWER STRIP .. 519.00
• 6·0UTLET WITH
SURGE PROTECT . . . . . . . .. 525.00
• RF MODULATOR ...... . . .. 555.00·
• CABLE GENDER
CHANGER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $9.00
COMPATIBLE COMPUTERS
• LASER 3000, 60 COL.. 1 DR.. $375.00·
• VF PC, APPLE & IBM
COMPATIBLE ........... $1190.00·
GAME 1/0 DEVICES
•
•
•
•
•
CH PADDLE STICKS . . . . . .. 533.00
CH MACH II JOYSTICK ..... 533.00
CH MACH III JOYSTICK .... $39.00
110 PORT EXPANDER ...... $25.00
9·16 OR 16·9 ADAPTER ..... $9.00
MONITORS
• 12·INCH USI AMBER . . . . . .. 589.00·
• AVT AMERICA. 22 Mhz .... $119.00·
• RGB COLOR . . . . . . . . . . . .. $299.00 ~
LONG DISTANCE: CALL TOLL-FREE FROM
ANY TONE-GENERATING PHONE: DIAL
950-1088: (IF YOU RECEIVE A RECORDING.
DIAL 800-44&-4462 INSTEAD): WAIT FOR
TONE: DIAL 363-1313.
SBSBSBSSSSSBBSBSSBBS
Washington Apple Pi APPLE SOFTWARE •
•
•
•
PiNPOINT ............... . $55.00· DISK DRIVE ANALYZER ... . $29.00
COpy II + .............. . $29.00 ESSENTIAL DATA
DUPLICATOR . . . . . . . . . . . .. $59.00
• INCOME TAX PREPARER .. 5175.00
• PLUSWORKS (RUNS ApPLEWORKS
ON II +) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $19.00
• 'WRITE CHOICE"
WORD PROCESSOR . . . . . .. $39.00
• WORDSTAR 3.3 ........... $99.00 • PRINT SHOP ............. $39.00 • TURBO PASCAL .......... $56.00· • SECOND DISK DR FOR lie. 5119.00
• HOTLINK TO PARALLEL PRINTER . . . . . .. 555.00 • GRAPPLER C . . . . . . . . . . . .. 595.00
• FINGERPRINT ........... $109.00 • PRINTER OR MODEM CABLE ........... 520.00 • DISK DRIVE CABLE
ADAPTER ................ 515.00·
• 9·16 GAME 110 ADAPTER .... $9.00
• CPM FOR lie: Z·80 BD ...... 599.00
• 256K MEMORY . . . . . . . . . .. $239.00·
• 512K MEMORY ........... $277.00'
.DISTAR ................. 5109.00
• CONTROLLER ............ 549.00
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSBBSBS
SPECIAL PERIPHERALS
• COOLING FAN WITH SURGE PROTECT . . . . . . . .. $39.00 • 58 W. POWER SUPPLY. . . .. 559.00
• SHIFT KEY MOD KIT . . . . . . .. 58.00
• SCREEN SWITCHERI DRIVE STEPPER .. . . . . . . .. $74.00 • RF MODULATOR .......... $19.00 _APPLE lie CORNER_
DISK DRIVES
PLEASE NOTE!
BECAUSE U.S. DOLLAR IS DROPPING, SOME PRICES MAY INCREASE. PRICE ON DATE OF PURCHASE APPLIES. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
16K RAM CARD (~JR II +) .. $49.00
64K RAM CARD (FOR II +) . $159.00'
80 COL CARD. . . . . . . . . . . .. $49.00·
80/160 COL. CARD ....... 5189.00·
SUPER SERIAL INT. CARD.. 569.00
SERI·ALL ................. 599.00
TITAN ACCELERATOR lie .. 5249.00
WILDCARD II COpy CD ... 5109.00
MULTIPLE·SLOT CHASSIS. 5149.00
SINGLE·SLOT EXTENDER .. $29.00
QUICK-LOADER PROM BD. 5149.00
PROM BURNER .......... 5119.00
APPLICARD FAST·Z·80 .... $129.00
APPLICARD PLUS
WORDSTAR ............ 5199.00
64K MEMORY. . . .. . . .. ... 5119.00·
320K MEMORY ........... 5153.00· 512K MEMORY ........... 5187.00· 1 MEG MEMORY ......... $292.00· CLOCK CARD . . . . . . . . . . . .. $95.00·
MODEM CARD . . . . . . . . . . .. $39.00·
Z·80 BOARD .............. $39.00·
lUI!' (301) 652·4232
CAL~~':EoUR ~
. .ASSOCIATES :u;~:.;~~
8231
WOODMONT AVENUE. BETHESDA, MARYlAND 20814
STORE HOURS: Monday through Thursday: 12 noon un1l18 p.m.
12 Noon until 6
March 1986
$6.: ~a
~nWc!~tor
59
REV!lEW e0RHER
I
0
I
by James M. Burger
RPPLEWORLD RnD maCEXPO
APPLEWORLD CONFERENCE AND MACWORLD EXPO SAN FRANCISCO
Apple charged a hefty $300 per attendee for the tw<Hiay
program. The company only expected 300 developers. Five
hundred showed up. That alone is a vote of confidence. But,
the give and take between Apple developer evangelists and
developers made it clear that lots of people out there are
developing a myriad of Mac and /I products. To paraphrase:
the reported death of the Mac and the /I is premature.
The February issue of the Journal reproduced most of the
essentials of the new Mac Plus. Some of the features that
were of particular interest were in the new ROMs. They
include a number of new routines that will improve Mac's per
formance. Also the one megabyte memory on SIMM's
standard in-line memory modules. This will allow a
relatively painless upgrade to four megabytes when one
megabyte chips are available in production quantities - no
motherboard swap needed. (I feel like an old-timer. I
remember my excitement at upgrading my 48K][+ to 64K.)
But most important was Mac's new window to the world:
the SCSI port (pronounced scuzzy - ugh!) or small computer
standard interface. This will pennit fast access to hard disk
drives and other peripherals. At least eight companies
announced hard disk drives for the SCSI port (see new
products below). Up to eight devices can be "daisy-chained"
through the SCSI port.
The other enhanced product was the LaserWriter+: a 12
megahertz 68000 processor, 1 megabyte of ROM plus 1.5
megabytes of RAM, with 11 built-in fonts. The + will be
faster than the standard LaserWriter and will allow downloaded
fonts, up to 35. I thought the standard LaserWriter was
impressive enough. Clearly, Apple is going after the desktop
publishing market with a vengeance (it is hoped that desktop
publishing will be the "VisiCalc of the 1980's"). At a desk
top publishing seminar for developers (and it was packed) it
was clear that existing products were being improved (see new
products below) and that we can expect new more powerful
desktop publishing software.
Finally, the highlight of the conference was Alan Kay, an
Apple Scholar. While some of what he had to say was
beyond me, he had a number of fascinating ideas about what
we can expect in the future. What's beyond windows and
icon's? "Agents." Agents will be "a computer process to
extend your will and purpose into the computer."
An example would be a program that created your "per
sonal newspaper" every morning. The"agent" would ask you
what sort of news interests you. Early in the morning, while
you sleep, it would query all the news databases and gather the
articles of interest to you. It would include faces, maps and
other pictures off of a video disk; your own USA Today.
Moreover, based on its own analysis, it would selectively
include articles from areas you did not specifically ask for, but
60
which it decided you might be interested in, and later check to
determine if you read them (Alan didn't explain how). The
idea of agents sounds intriguing, but pretty far beyond where
we are now. Although, in a small way Switcher produces sets
in a way that is more agent-like than window and icon, e.g.
Microsoft Word, MacPaint, MacDraw and ThinkTank
organized for writing. (Trivia: I learned that there are
973,293,441,072,200,029,208,152 combinations of Mac pro
grams on Switcher).
AppleWorld Conference and MacWorld Expo.
AppleWorld Conference: I was nostalgic for the old Share
holders meeting with the exciting flair of a casual Steve Jobs
and a smiling John Sculley flipping disks between them.
But, The AppleWorld Conference was well done and, ifnot as
exciting, it made me feel confident in Apple's future. John
Sculley with his solid team of Bill Campbell, Jean-Louis
Gassee, and Del Yocam made an impressive presentation.
Those of us who have long worked to get Apple to form
closer alliances with user groups were rewarded with good
words by Sculley, and a full time user group evangelist. I'm
sure Tom Warrick and Bernie Urban will tell you more.
Other facts of interest were the future of the Mac and /I. It
was pointed out that Jean-Louis Gassee - Vice President of
Product Development - has vanity license plates that read
"OPEN MAC". Sculley promised that there would be an
open Macintosh. What might it have? I have heard so much
speculation that I'm afraid to guess. Looking around the Mac
World Expo, however, gives one some ideas about what I
would want in a machine: Clearly a faster processor (see
Levco and General Computer below); large screen or, better
yet, different optional screen sizes; the ability to insert a hard
drive (like on the IBM-PC and clones); and, of course, slots.
While the Mac+ is not the final solution, it is a large step in
the right direction. More important, it is solid proof that
under John Sculley Apple is headed in the right direction.
MacWorld Expo: Each Expo seems to be better than the
previous one. The crowds were unbelieveable. On the f!Cst
day, Thursday, attendance was quite large for a weekday. The
large crowd on Friday made me think of a weekend crowd at
August's Boston MacWorld Expo. Saturday the place was
packed. Some aisles were wall-to-wall people. Another sign
that Mac is alive and well. In fact, I caught up with Cary Lu
at the Microsoft booth. He was not prepared to entirely retract
his words. But, he did admit that there was a lot of enthus
iasm, and that it did appear that there were a fair number of
Mac developers still working on improved and new programs.
The new product announcements were almost too much to
deal with. Indeed, for the first time, the show had an Apple /I
section. I wished that I could have cloned myself. The
programs and hardware that I saw for the /I, in the little time I
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
.~
"".
had, ponends good things ahead for the II family. As the
numerous new products notes below demonstrate, both Mac
and /I developers are prolific.
Two hardware products were especially impressive. Lev
~ co's MacSuper 20 and MacSuper 2OFP. The MacSuper 20
has a 68020 processor running at 16 Megahertz, with a faster
instruction set, a high speed 128-word internal instruction
cache, and a 32-bit wide data path (versus 16 on the 68000 in
the Mac) with coprocessor support instructions (thus acces
sing the 68881 floating point coprocessor without special
software). In order to benefit from this you must purchase
the MacSuper 20FP, which has the 68881 floating point c0
processor in addition to all the above.
The MacSupers run many popular programs without mod
ification. The machine runs very fast (it fact I would swear
that it left rubber on the desk). Seriously, they claim speed
improvements of from 400 to 5000 %. I believe it. Duane
Maxwell of Levco ran an demonstration with Excel. It took
only 23 seconds from the desktop to a spreadsheet with over
9,999 cells full of interdependent data. He changed one
number and recalculation took about 7.5 seconds. Programs
like MacPaint boot almost instaneously. Very fast.
The MacSuper comes with 1,2 or 4 megabytes of high
speed RAM. Price and availability? At the present time it
would cost about $8,500 for a full MacSuper 20FP with 4
megabytes. Duane notes that Motorola is not yet selling the
chip in production quantities. It currently costs Levco $500
just for the 68020 CPU chip. He hopes to trim the price
somewhat in the near future. Chip prices are falling all the
time (that was the good news conveyed by Cary Lu). Hope
fully, Levco can bring the price of the SuperMac down closer
~ to what we can afford. But just the technological achievement
alone is impressive.
General Computer had its souped up Mac. Although not
quite as impressive as the Levco upgrade, the price was a little
more affordable. GCC's Hyperdrive 2000 has a 12 Megahertz
68000 CPU, a 68881 math coprocessor, 1 megabyte of
memory and a 20-meg hyperdrive. While I would love to
have a Levco SuperMac, GCC seems more likely to take the
market based on price. Although not quite as fast as the
SuperMac, the Hyperdrive 2000 combines the speed of the
Hyperdrive with a CPU that is significantly faster than the
68000 in the production Mac which is just under 8 Megahertz.
On the software side, Rick Barron of Affinity Micro
systems was there with his release of Tempo, a macro
generating program. I picked up a copy and hope to have a
review in the next edition. Another, exciting new product was
Interlace by Singular Software. This is a product which, at
the Developer's Conference, John Sculley said he used him
self. It is a full powered visual database system that makes
heavy use of the Mac visual interface. The demonstration by
Bob Welles of Singular was impressive. Hopefully, we will
get a copy to review soon. Meanwhile, I am working my
way through OverVUE 2.Od. which is rapidly becoming my
standard database. (XLisa users take note: LisaList ports
directly into the default import mode of OverVUE, after
converting LisaList to ASCII text via the Apple Migration
'-" Package.)
While we are on the subject of software, a tip of the hat to
Adobe. The continued increase in professional Laser fonts is
Washington Apple Pi
impressive. If anything will get Apple into the office it is the
professional desktop publishing which the LaserWriter,
Adobe's PostScript language, and their typeset quality fonts
permit
Well, Ann Arbor
Tired of MacPaint's limitations.
Softworks' new product, Fullpaint brings much more of
Mac's power to a paint program. It was a product which drew
large crowds. Paladin Software Corporation was showing its
upgraded version of Crunch - SuperCrunch. The create your
own icon bar feature and the addition of Micros appears to
make it a competitive spreadsheet But Microsoft, with its
successful Excel, has formed a strategic alliance with The
Cobb Group, and produced an impressive book on Excel,
Excel in Business by Doug Cobb (soon to be followed by
Hands-On Microsoft Excel, tutorial book with disk). The
Cobb boys are prolific:
Steve Cobb has written
Understanding OverVUE.
New Products:
HARDWARE
AST Research, Inc. 2121 Alton Ave., Irvine, CA 92714.
AST -4000. 74 megabyte hard disk/60 megabyte streaming
tape backup subsystem designed for the SCSI port, can be
expanded to 370 megabyteS.
Dayna Communications, Inc., 50 S. Main Street, Salt
Lake City, UT 84144. MacCharlie Plus. $1295. For 512K
and Mac Plus. New version of hardware permitting the Mac
to run IBM-PC programs, with single drive, 256K RAM, 10
function keys, Switcher, MS-DOS 3.1 and GW-BASIC; with
upgraded ROM and MacCharlie application program.
Ergotron, Inc., P.O. Box 17013, Minneapolis, MN
55417. MacBufrer. $299. 256K, 512K, and 1 Meg. buffers
which claims to reduce print wait times 50-90%.
Innovative Technologies, P.O. Box 3092, La Jolla, CA
92038. Disc Management Systems: The Pocket Pak.
$13.95. Holds to 3.5" and fits inside coat pocket The Disc
Directory. Holds 30 - 3.5" discs. The Easel. Holds 20 - 3.5"
discs and folds to I". The Library. $49.95. On a rotating
stand, holds 80 - 3.5" disks, can add two more modules for
240 disks.
IOmega Corporation, 1821 W. 4000 South, Roy, Utah
84067. Bernoulli Box 20+20, 20,10+10 and 10. Removable
cartridge drives for the SCSI interface on the Mac Plus.
LoDown, P.O. Box 5146, Pleasanton, CA 94566.
LoDOWN-I0, 20, 40, 80 and LoDown-T20, T60. $795.00;
995.00; 1995.00; 3995.00; and $895.00; 1795.00. Hard disk
and Tape Back-up for the MacPlus via the SCSI port, will
boot directly from the hard disk and supports HFS.
Mentauris Technologies, P.O. Box 1467, San Marcos, TX
78666. MacVideo Interrace. $188. Composite video output
for the Mac, uninstalled. Large Screen Mac- Monitors. 23"
MacCompatible. $1290. 23" Variscan Monitor (for Mac,
contd.
March 1986
61
Apple, mM, Atari and Commodore) $1490. MacMonitor
Projector. $3980. Projects white picture up to 10', also
compatible with II, mM, Atari and Commodore.
MDIdeas, Inc., 1111 Triton Drive, Foster City, CA
94404. HD·20 and HD·30. $1095 and $1595. Hard disk
drives for the Mac Plus SCSI port
MICAH, Inc., 15 Princess St, Sausalito, CA 94965.
MicahDrive 10 AT and MicahDrive 20 AT. $1495 and
$1895. Hard disk drives for the Mac Plus that clip onto the
main logic board leaving the SCSI port free.
Mirror Technologies, 2209 Phelps Rd, Hugo, MN
55038. For 512K & MacPlus: MagNet 20. Internal 20
Megabyte hard disk drive with multi-user print and disk server,
print spooling, disk cache, incremental backup and password
protection, uses La Pine Technology drive. MagNet 20X.
External 20 meg. drive for SCSI interface. For all Macs:
Magnum Tape 10 and 20. Removable streaming or random
access tape backup.
SpectraFax Corp., 2000 Palm. St. S., Naples, FA 33962.
SpectraFax. $3995. For the 512K and Mac Plus. Color
scanner with color graphics editing software that allows the
ImageWriter IT to print in color.
SuperMac Technology, 1901 Old Middlefield Way,
Mountain View, CA 94040. DataFrame. $1095. 20
megabyte hard disk for the Mac Plus SCSI port, does not use
a fan.
Univation, Inc., 1037 Fair Oaks Ave., Sunnyvale, CA
94089. SlimLine Hard Disk Subsystem. Begins at $2795.
For Mac Plus SCSI port
20 or 30 megabyte fixed
Winchester mounted vertically above a 10 megabyte remov
able cartridge hard disk drive.
Windsor Marketing Group, 11 Madrone Avenue, San
Anselmo, CA 94960. Rolltop and executive desks designed
for computers.
3Com Corporation, P.O. Box 7390, Mountain View, CA
94039. 3Server Expansion Disk. $4995. For Mac Plus
SCSI port 70 megabyte drive, up to seven drives can be
daisy chained to provide almost half a gigabyte (490
megabytes).
SOFTWAREAdobe Systems Incorporated, 1870 Embarcadero, Palo
Alto, CA 94303.
Twelve typeface packages with
downloadable Laser fonts for any Postscript printer (including
the LaserWriter), for the 512K and Mac Plus. $185 per single
printer package.
Affinity Microsystems, Ltd., 1050 Walnut Street, Suite
425, Boulder, CO 80302. Tempo. The Macro builder for the
Macintosh, record any series of Macintosh commands or
keystrokes and Tempo will play them back every time you
need them.
Aldus Corporation, 616 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104.
PageMaker 1.2. $495. Desktop publishing tool enhanced
with full access to the seven new Adobe fonts in the
LaserWriter Plus and supports download for the twelve new
downloadable Adobe fonts.
Ann Arbor Softworks, Inc., 308 112 South State St., Ann
Arbor, Michigan 48104. Fulll)aint. 512K Mac. Four
document. full-screen paint (with scroll bars) program, with
pop-up rulers and mouse spot, can rotate, skew and distort
images, desk accessories can be left on for reference during
62
painting.
Assimilation Inc., 485 Alberto Way, Los Gatos, CA
95030. Work.n.Print. Allow document printing (any order
and quantity) while doing other work. The.Right. Word.
$89. Application program checks and corrects spelling and
grammar with Webster's Dictionary and Roget's Theasaurus,
with 40K word dictionary and 200K+ utility dictionary disk
for hard drives.
Boston Software Publishers, 1260 Boylston St, Boston,
MA 02215. MacPublisher
$149.95. Enhanced version of
the original desktop publishing software, with automatic and
manual kerning, discretionary hyphenation, auto page
numbering, auto "continued-on" lines, repeating elements, up
to 96 pages and more; can open flIes directly from MacDraw,
Paint. Write, and Word
Brainstorm Development. Inc., P.O. Box 26948, Austin,
TX 78755. Overture. $99.99. A cash flow analysis system
for use as a fmancial planning and investment management
tool.
Cognition Technology, 55 Wheeler St., Cambridge, MA
02138. MacSMARTS. $69.95 (introductory price, list $150),
requires 512K or MacPlus. Integrated "artificial intelligence"
productivity tool for knowledge works.
Cricket Software, 3508 Market St., Philadelphia, PA
19104. Cricket Graph. Create and customize graphs with
total page control, output to ImageWriter (1111), LaserWriter
and some color plotters.
Digital, Tec., 1749 14th St, Santa Monica, CA 90404.
Turbo Maccountant. $495. Fully integrated accounting
system combining general ledger, accounts receivable and
payable, payroll and invoicing in one program, comes with
free video training tape.
IDEAFORM, INC., P.O. Box 1540, Fairfield, Iowa
52556. MacLabeler (2.0). $49.95. Program for reading and
labeling disks, has versions for 512K and 128K Mac on same
disk.
Infosphere, Inc." 4730 SW Macadam Ave., Portland, OR
97201. MacServe. For use as standalone or with Apple- Talk
networks - hard disk management. data security, and print
spooling.
Manhattan Graphics, 163 Varick St, New York, NY.
ReadySetGo 2.1. New version to support Mac Plus, with
enhanced features - scrolling, 40 page capacity, more versatile
block manipulation and redesigned packaging.
Paladin Software Corporation, 3255 Scott Blvd., Santa
Oara, CA 95054. Super Crunch. $295. Upgrade version of
Paladin's spreadsheet program, improves its icon bar with 64
icons to permit user custornization, also adds macros plus
"3D" wotksheets.
ProVUE Development Corporation, 222 22nd Street.
Huntington Beach, CA 92648. OverVue 2.0d. High pow
ered RAM-based relational database, with Macros, charting and
more, version d is not copyprotected and works with HFS.
Mail Manager Template. Series of custom OverVUE
templates to manage mailings lists, prints labels or enve
lopes, personalized form letters with MS Word, identifies
duplicates, standardizes inconsistent entries, and sorts for bulk
mailing according to USPS regulations.
Silicon Beach Software, Inc., P.O. Box 261430, San
Diego, CA 92126. Silicon Press. Create cards and labels,
contd.
March 1986
n.
Washington Apple Pi
including identification tags, greeting cards, business cards,
mailing labels, invitations, and disk directory labels.
Simon & Schuster, 1230 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY
10020. Typing Tutor m. $59.95. Words and numbers tests,
standard speed tests, and full keyboard test, with Kriya Sys
terns "Time Monitoring Response" technique that automatic
ally creates customized lessons. J.K. Lasser's Your Income
Tax (1986). $79.95. Interactive interview, worksheet, 28
forms, andLasser's guidebook. J.K. Lasser's Your Money Ma
nager. $89.95. Home accounting and small business tool that
provides a check writer, fmancial statements, balance sheets,
budget reports and other infonnation for financial planning.
Singular Software, 5888 Castano Drive, San Jose, CA
95129. Interlace. $95 (inttoductory price,list $139). Merges
the power and capacity of a fully relational data base, the
calculation capacity of a spreadsheet with the ease of use of
visuallayouL
THINK Technologies, Inc., 420 Bedford St., Lexington.
MA 02173. InBox. $295. For 512K and MacPlus. Desk
top communications application for the AppleTalk network,
network users send messages and memos, and gives users file
sharing capabilities.
BOOKSMicrosoft Press, 10700 Northup Way, Box 97200,
Bellvue, WA 98009. Excel in Business. $22.95. An
extensive work by Douglas Cobb (of the Cobb Group) on the
best spreadsheet program on any microcomputer.
The Cobb Group, 301 North Hurstboume Lane,
Louisville, KY 40222.. Understanding OverVUE. TutMal
and reference guide to OverVUE 2.0.
II PBI Software, Inc., 1111 Triton Drive, Foster City, CA
94404. GraphWorks. $79.95. Business graphics program to
convert AppleWorks spreadsheet data rues into stacked-bar
graphs, line graphs, pie charts or interlaced-bar graphs.
Jeeves. $49.95. Desktop accesssories - calendar, calculator,
memo pad, phone dialer/directory and alarm clock.
~
Using Excel - Taxes conrd. from pg 58
cally throughout the year to enter tax-related information. the
entire tax process is simplified with much less trauma as
April 15 approaches. You can even prepare and print a blank
template to record miscellaneous business expenses during the
year so that you do not have to load Excel into the computer
every day to keep an accurate record.
If you take your time to enter all the applicable tax forms,
schedules and tables, you will be surprised how easy preparing
your tax return can be. No more math errors and erasures
every time you change a number on one form. If you do
everything correctly, you will be able to change any value on
any form and have the new adjusted gross income and tax
owed (maybe refund due!) automatically calculated in less than
one second. Remember that the accuracy of your tax returns
will only be as good as the qUality of your spreadsheets.
Check and re-check the math formulas used and be sure that
specific cell references are accurate. This can be ~i1itated by
use of the "display" command from the "Options" menu. You
may check the show "formulas" option and Excel will double
the column widths to display the formula references in each
cell. Figure 4 illustrates the desktop with icons represent
ing tax forms, schedules, macros, and miscellaneous business
worksheets.
HARDWARE-
Innovative Technologies (see Mac products above). The
Pyramid. $21.95. Holds 24 - 5 1/4 discs in folding cordura.
PrentIce Romich Company, 1022 Heyl Rd, Wooster, OH
44691. Keyguards. For people with limited keyboard skills
or handicapped helps prevent accidentally hitting unwanted
keys, has locking mechanisms for shift and control.
Computer Entry Terminal. Alternate computer entry system
for people who do not have the physical capability to access a
standard computer.
SOFTWARE-
Access Unlimited-Speech Enterprises, 10622 Fairlane Dr.,
Houston, TX 77024. Talk-Talk Screens I. $45.00. Talldng
and large print "pre-boot", use for talking programs, other text
oriented software. Talk-Talk Prints I. $60.00. Graphics
printer "pre-boot", legal-sized printer output (18 PL), converts
ASCII textfues into large or fancy prinL Prints/Screens Font
Disk #1. $25.00. Extra large, fancy and utility type-styles
and print sizes.
Big Red Apple Club, 1105 S. 13th, Norfolk, NE 68701.
Slalom. Turns AppleWorks spreadsheets to print length
~ wise, works with Apple DMP, ImageWriter, Epson
MXIRXIFX and others, for lie and IIc.
Washington Apple Pi
Figure 4
Preparing taxes are never fun, but they can be made much
less of a chore by using spreadsheets such as Excel to
simplify and speed the process. Taking some time to do the
initial preparation will save much time and frustration in
future years. I have not been able to address all possible tax
situations but, hopefully, your curiosity will have been stim
ulated enough to consider using a spreadsheet such as Excel to
make tax preparation easier. If you have further suggestions
that may benefit others, please write it up and submit it to the
W AP Journal.
~
March 1986
63
MACINTOSH PLUS CONNECTORS by
Jonathan E. Hardis
The following is condensed from Apple Technical Note 65,
Macintosh Plus Pinouts, by Mark Baumwell.
Macintosh Plus Serial COllnectors (Mini DIN-H)
MaciutQ5b Plu5 Cable PiDoyts
Apple System Peripheral-8 Cable (connects Macintosh
Plus to IrnageWriter II and Apple Personal Modem)
(Product part number: M0187)
(Female
Conneotor)
(Male
Connector)
~
Jl~£[il!liQDmQlS!5
1
HSKo
2
HSKilExtemal Clock
Output Handshake (from
Zilog 8530 DTR pin)
Input Handshake (CTS) or
T1hC (depends on 8530 mode)
Transmit Data line
fin
TxD
Ground
RxD
TxD+
Not connected
RxD+
3
4
5
6
7
8
Receive Data line
Transmit Data line
Receive Data line; ground this
line to emulate RS232
MacintQ5b Plu5 SCSI CQUDS!ctQ[ mH-25)
13 12
(F.m~l.
Conntotor)
fin
~
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
REQ
MSG
110
RST
ACK
BSY
Ground
DBD
Ground
DB3
DB5
DB6
DB7
9
10
11
12
13
64
II 10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
• • • • • • • • • eo.
25 24 23 22 21 10 19 18 17 16 IS 14
•
~
•
•
•
~
£in
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
•
•
•
G •
~
Ground
•
(DIN-8 )
1
(DIN-8 )
2
2
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
5
4
3
8
7
6
Macintosh Plus Adapter Cable (connects Macintosh Plus
DIN-8 to Macintosh DB-9 cables)
(DIN-8 )
~W1l.:2l
1
+12V
6
2
HSK
7
3
TxD5
4
Ground
3
5
RxD9
6
TxD+
4
7
no wire
8
RxD+
8
Ground
1
Note: DB9 pins 1 and 3 are jumpered together.
C/O
Ground
ATN
Ground
SEL
DBP
DBl
DB2
DB4
24
Ground
25 TPWR
Note: Pin 25 not connected
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
BEST OF THE MAC ITEMS - UBBS by
Regina Litman
Mac Programming
Print Manager & 68000
FRED NAEF ON 11130 TO ALL
I'm attempting to use the Mac Print Manager (as described in
Inside Macintosh) Assembly Language with NO Pascal.
I.M. says there is no way to access routines such as PrOpen,
etc. Assembly Language except by:1. Opening the driver
'.Print'. 2. Getting the name of the printer resource file (in
'STR ' #-8192 ($EOOO». 3. Opening the printer resource file.
4. THEN, to do the PrJob routines, load PDEF #4 into mem
ory. Okay, now, how do you call the routines?? I.M. says
that each overlay (or PDEF resource) is preceded by offsets to
the Print Manager routines.
They give examples of
$OOOCOOOO, for one. What is this added on to? One other
source I've read states that these offsets are BRA statements.
Looking at the actual offsets with ResEdit 0.7, they are JMP
n(PC) statements (n is an offset). If I call the Manager by
merely jumping to the offset statement (to the JMP instruc
tion) I always get a system error (with varying 1O#'s: 2,3,11,
etc.). How do you call Print Manager routines Assembly
Language? Thanks in advance.
TIM BUEHRER ON 12103 TO FRED NAEF
Derick, assuming that you are using the MOS, the easiest
way to access the printer manager is to use the PrLink.Rel file
included in the package. To do so: 1) Include the PrEqu.Txt
file in your program; 2) Link PrLink.Rel with your program;
3) JSR to PrOpen, etc. within your program. The program
TestPrint (I think that is the name) in the MDS is an example
of how this is done. If you do not have PrLink.Rel, the
August issue of MacTutor pp. 12-19 gives the source code for
PrLink.Rel. Good luck.
Tech Notes & HFS
TIM BUEHRER ON 01112 TO ALL
I have just received the HFS package Apple. It included the
current versions of System (2.1), Finder (5.0), FontiDA
Mover (2.5), Imagewriter Driver (2.0), and ResEdit (1.004
yes that is the new numbering system: 1.0 is the number that
will eventually be released; 0 means development, less than
Alpha; and 4 means the fourth of the series) along with 133
pages of new 1M File Manager section. The latest installment
of tech notes also arrived with notes on HFS among other
things. Apple will send these to anyone willing to pay the
freight, $25 for one year of tech notes and $25 for the HFS
package as well as the last software supplement ("December").
All in all they are probably both worth the money if you are
serious about progranuning the Mac.
TOM PARRISH ON 01114 TO TIM BUEHRER
Tim: What's the address to order the HFS package and the
December supplement Apple?
Apple Address
PAUL COZZA ON 01121 TO TOM PARRISH
Tom: You can order the Software Supplement: Apple
Computer Mailing Facility, 467 Saratoga Avenue, Suite 621,
San Jose, CA 95129. Their phone is (408) 988-6009, but
they will only take an order through the mail. Just send them
Washington Apple Pi
$25 and your return address, requesting them the December
Software Supplement It takes about 3 weeks to get it back.
It's well worth the money!
Inside Macintosh
TIM BUEHRER ON 01123 TO ALL
The new hard cover Inside Macintosh is now in print. Those
who ordered the original software supplement should have it
already or be receiving it shonly. The rest of us should keep
an eye out at our favorite bookstores.
TOM VIER ON 01129 TO TIM BUEHRER
I'm still looking for info on the Mac drives (hardware and
format, not file structure). Does "Inside" have this? How
many pages? Few enough that they could be copied and sent?
Thanks!
TIM BUEHRER ON 02/01 TO TOM VIER
Inside Mac has a 9 page section on the disk driver which
simply gives the calls for ejecting disks, checking drive status
(which gives all sorts of info on the current position of the
head, type of disk, etc.), and setting the sector tag buffer. The
hardware section of Inside Mac has 4 pages on "The Disk
Interface" which explains how the drive communicates with
the Mac. Finally, the old phone book 1M, but not the new
hard bound 1M, has an example of a disk driver in the device
manager section. I'd be happy to send you anything you
want, but I'm not sure I know which of these would be of use
to you for your project.
MAC Hardware
New Ext. Driye
DOUGLAS E CANTON JR ON 11129 TO ALL
Mirror Tech. 800K external drive can be seen at Computer
Age. It appears to in fact be twice as fast as Apple's external
drive for the Mac. I have not had any hands on. Mirror Tech.
has not, as far as I know, indicated compatibility with a
hierarchical filing system. The Mirror Tech. drive does not
auto eject the disk. An LED lights up when the disk may be
removed. Removing/ejecting the disk is done by pressing a
button on the front of the drive when the LED is lit.
Tecmar Troubles
BILL AMON ON 12109 TO BOB MASSO
I am using Tecmar here but with new version 2.2 software.
Suggest you get the latest version either me or Steve
Birgfeld, Tecmar Rockville, 294-9661. Note that the "Print
Spooler" is not done properly in RAM. Thus control is
returned to the Mac only after all but the last 1/2 page is
printed! I understand that Tecmar will offer a future
software/hardware upgrade to suppon true print spooling.
This will consist of RAM (the logic board already has empty
sockets 10 receive the new RAM) and a revised boot disk. No
word on when this will happen.
Apple 20 Meg Hard Driye
JULIAN MILLER ON 01112 TO ALL
If anyone has the Apple Hard Disk yet I highly recommend
the use of Way Station till they have a proper hard disk pon
conld.
March 1986
65
and new ROMs to speed things up.
Mac± Upgrade Process
RICK STICKLE ON 01120 TO LARRY HALFF
The only thing it seems Apple has really done wrong this
time is there is no "deal" on the external disk drive. I think it
would drive me crazy to have 800K internal and 400K
external. Speaking of hardware, I understand that the ±5 and
±12V lines are gone the new round serial ports. Anyone
have any ideas on what that will do to things like
Thunderscan?
LARRY HALFF ON 01120 TO RICK STICKLE
Yeah.. .I was upset by the fact about the 400K drives. I don't
want to have to fork over anotht:r $500 for an external drive. I
also wonder what people with these 3rd party 800K drives will
do. About the serial ports, I would recommend calling the
manufacturer of the product about what it will do to the
hardware. Maybe there is an upgrade policy or something, or
it may not matter at all.
RICH NORLING ON 02104 TO RICK STICKLE
Yes, Thunderscan will not worle with the new serial ports. I
understand that MacBottom also used the ±5 or ±12V lines.
Apple always warned developers not to use the ±5 and ±12V
lines, so the problem is the fault of the Thunderscan
manufacturer. I assume they'U have to offer upgrades to
current owners of Thunderscan ..- at least they should!
ThunderscaD
RICK STICKLE ON 01122 TO AU..
I called Thunderware about the lack of the ±5 volt pin on the
new MAC± and was told that they will be mailing out a
notification to all users. They will be redesigning the
Thunderscan adapter to plug into 110 volt, and when the
design is finalized they will notify users of the cost of the
upgrade.
when running the fractiles program on SIGMAC disk twenty
something, the 512K Mac completed the drawing of the
fractile pattern 20 to 25 percent faster than the Plus despite the
fact that the Plus began drawing the pattern earlier (in all
likelihood because SANE is in ROM on the Plus). Other
drawing intensive programs seemed to yield the same results.
Any thoughts?
lIES.
JIM RHODES ON 01/30 TO AU..
There must be some others out there who are confused like me
about HFS. Is there anyone who can help us understand just
how well our old software will run on the new MacPlus
hardware? More specifically, what if one doesn't want or need
to run a hard drive? (I) Does the new ROM &/or double-sided
drive require the use of HFS on your disks? (2) Can we still
use disks with MFS on them? (3) Can we use a RAM disk
with MFS and MacPlus upgrade? I'm thinking maybe it
would be better to get something like Levco's MonsterMac so
I won't need to upgrade my software (I think not - but maybe).
Anyone sharing info on this would be very much appreciated.
RICH NORLING ON 02104 TO JIM RHODES
I can help with some of your questions. The new ROM does
not require use of HFS on your 400K single-sided disks. It
recognizes and reads MFS (the old "flat" Macintosh File
System) disks. When you initialize a disk, the new system
initializes it with HFS if it is a hard disk or a double-sided
floppy. It initializes it with MFS if it is a 400K floppy,
unless you hold down the Option key to force it to use HFS.
The new operating system (the one with Finder 5.1, which
should be available your dealer soon) has a RAM me caching
scheme which you run the Control Panel desk accessory -- I
do not know if that will interfere with RAM disk software.
Finder 5.1 is recommended by Apple for use with 512K Macs
and MacPlus but not with 128K Macs.
ImageWrjter Prjnthead
Unofficial S12K Upgrade
PAUL COZZA ON 01121 TO DAVID FISHER
The dealer I talked to said that Apple will accept our
"unofficial" 512K boards but treat them as 128K boards (i.e.,
charging $799 for the upgrade, vs. $599). If the 256K bit
DRAMs are socketed, maybe we can keep them (for what
they're worth!). [Cost to upgrade 128K = $300 for ROM and
drive only - same as 512K).
MacPlus Upgrade - Group Purchase
JIM RHODES ON 01122 TO ALL
Especially to Rich Wasserstrom - what can we do about a
group buy for upgrades? Please sign me up for one for 128K
to MacPlus specs. I don't know about the keyboard though
it might get in the way of the mouse. Thanks.
TOM WARRICK ON 01126 TO JIM RHODES
Rich is working on getting us a better deal than 25% off on
the upgrade.
MacPlus
TIM BUEHRER ON 01123 TO AU..
At the MacWorld Expo the WAP booth had a Mac Plus to try
ouL One interesting set of experiments that was run was to
race the MacPlus against the 512 using various programs.
The Plus was much faster in opening and closing files (a
testimony to the speed of the new file manager). However,
66
JOHN MARKEY ON 02102 TO AU..
Does anyone know a simple way to cure missing pixels when
printing (pixel dropout)? Seems that number 6 wire in the
printhead is "stuck". I tried cleaning with a small brush. Any
advice appreciated before I spring for a new printhead.
Thanks.
TOM DEMAY ON 02103 TO JOHN MARKEY
John, you might try a squirt of WD-40. It will dissolve the
ink that is coating the printhead as well as lubricate it
Mouse Problem
CHARLES 1URNER ON 02103 TO AU..
In the vertical direction only, my mouse moves and then
stalls, repeating this pattern up the screen. Close examination
shows that it moves up 28 lines and then alternates up and
down one line 28 times before again continuing up. Cleaning
by me and the dealer has been no help. An Apple 512K
upgrade didn't help. It seems to be in the mouse. Any sug
gestions before I get a new one?
RICH NORLING TO CHARLES TURNER
I suggest trying a borrowed mouse before you pay for a new
one. If the problem is not in the mouse itself, it may be a
major problem inside your Mac. The mouse interrupts are
actually processed by the hardware for one of the serial ports
in a very complicated way.
contd.
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
MAC Software
Help on SigMac Disk
RIOIARD WIELAND ON 11107 TO AlL
I am unable to open any MacWrite documents on three
SigMac disks just purchased. The Games and Switcher 4.4
seem to work fme, but each time I try to open the
documentation I get a not able to open document message.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
MARTIN MILROD TO RICHARD WIELAND
SIGMAC disks use MacWrite 2.2 (for reasons I cannot agree
with) and have to be "opened" and "converted" if you are using
MacWrite 4.5. Therefore, either use MacWrite 2.2 or move
(copy) document to another disk and then open with 4.5. It
takes more room to convert a 4.5 document
MacTerminaJ Y2.Q
GRANVILLE S KNOX JR ON 01124 TO AlL
MacTerminal V2.0 is now available for upgrading V1.0 disks.
I picked up mine at Clinton two weeks ago. I'd have put up
notice before this but have not been able to log on.
MAC Misc & Gossip
Mac S/W Tools
VASll..IS RIGINOS ON 11102 TO ANDY GALLANT/AlL
We have been using the Mac for planning a software project
(Mutliplan, MacProject, Excel) and for extensive documen
tation. In the latter we have several programmers using a mini
(Unix) as central depository of documentation. We use the
MacLine for this. Illustrations by MacDraw and MacDraft and
final copy to the Laser. Want anything specific please ask.
128K Mac
RON BRENNER ON 01117 TO AlL
Someone offered me a 128K Mac and printer. They want me
to make an offer. I have no idea of the value or worth of this
machine. I'm interested in getting it but need some help in
developing an offer. What should I look out for, etc.? Any
wisdom would be appreciated.
JAMES LlTILE ON 01/19 TO RON BRENNER
The value depends on what you need it for. Printer is one
generation back - not bad but not latest word. Est worth of
similar new discounted printer is $350. The Mac is useless
without upgrade. (Mine is stiU 128K, so I know.) Subtract
whatever upgrade path you wish to take the 2K cost of a 512
(less W AP discounts) and see if it's worth it. By the way,
which CPU board makes a difference on upgrades. Late style
CPUs have the space on the board for the new chip for the
address decoder. See Dr. Dobbs Journal at office for details of
self upgrade. Local upgrades start at 250 or so. Parts costs
for the whole thing is about 55 including 16 mem chips!! It
isn't a job for just anyone. Takes about 4 hours of careful
work.
More than you need and still doesn't answer the
fundamental? At least a bit of background on where to go.
Other possibility - check Computer Shopper classifieds
(Crown Books). See if there are any Mac 128s for sale there.
IBM Super Mac
MICHAEL DROLET ON 01/28 TO ALL
I saw a demo today of IBM's new RT PC, using an
application called APPLIX-IA. It is a combination of
MacWrite and MacPaint in the same application, basically,
and I was very favorably impressed. The RT appears to fall in
Washington Apple Pi
between the AT and the System 36 mini-computer. Also saw
a "desktop publishing" application (Workstation Publishing
Software) that looks as good as anything I've seen for the
Mac. Looks like they're going for the Fortune 500.
Macintosh Tech Notes
JASON DELOOZE ON 01128 TO AlL
I am looking for copies of the Macintosh Technical Notes; in
particular, I am looking for copies of Tech Notes #12 & #13
concerning the format of MacWrite documents. Can anyone
help me acquire copies? Thanks! Jason
MICHAEL DROLET ON 01J02 TO GAYIN HEMPHILL
See Jan/Feb Nibble Mac for Mac Tech Note #12 and a related
article on Disk Based MacWrite format - pages 58 to 72.
Telecommunications
!iEIW:
RICK STICKLE ON 01120 TO GARY HAYMAN
Gary, I've been on GEnie for about a week now. If you are
using a Mac the program downloading seems to be fme. At
this point there are over 700 programs on line, the download
section supports XMODEM and MacBinary, and many of the
programs are there in Packit form saving time and multiple
me downloads. The section seems very up to date with things
like Red Ryder 7.0. DefInitely worth a look.
PAUL H. SCHLOSSER ON 01/23 TO ALL
I called General Electric in Rockville and got the following
info on GEnie: They currently have GE Mail, a CB simul
ator, a BBS section, a software library, a game section, news
service, the encyclopedia section, and a travel section, with
more being added. (REAL SOON NOW!) You can call GE
in Rockville at 34().4000 and get more info. Connect time is
$5 an hour, at any speed. I was given a temporary password
to call and sign-up. Sign-up fee is $18, the 800 # is 800-638
8369 (modem), but call GE first to get a temp password.
Protocol Choice
CHARLES TURNER ON 01/31 TO AlL
BYTEnet Listings offers download via XMODEM,
XMODEMlCRC, and Kermit, among others. My Red Ryder
will receive any of these three. What are the factors in
selecting one, or is there a clear choice?
GEORGE KINAL TO CHARLES TURNER
My personal advice is to use XMODEMlCRC. This should
be faster than Kermit and a little more robust (reliable) than
standard (checksum) XMODEM.
Red Ryder and CRC
REGINA UTMAN ON 01J05 TO GEORGE KINAL
XMODEMlCRC does not work properly with Red Ryder,
especially when downloading a BBS running the IBM-PC and
compatible BBS program RBBS. A program called Free
Term, version 1.8, does not handle this properly either, but it
is easier to tum off the CRC XMODEM and therefore is
recommended for use with RBBS systems that support CRC
XMODEM.
Mac BBS's
REGINA LITMAN ON 01105 TO CON ROD!
Here are some local BBS's with Mac downloads: Files Board
(301) 946-8838, Mac News (202) 226-6543, ABBS (703) 648
contd.
March 1986
67
9406, T.I.E. (301) 258-9534, Falcon (301) 961-2028. Mac
conversation only: Terry Monks (703) 471-1378 (pos- sibly
not taking new members), Magus (703) 648-9322.
Games & Gamesig
Qrbjter
RICK STICKLE ON 12113 TO RICHARD BO~AR
Rick, no, I haven't seen it yet. I did get a couple of calls the
guy doing the programming about payload information. He
also told me that I was one of thl! first scheduled to be sent the
beta. To add to the confusion I saw an ad in one of the Mac
mags (MacUser?) Spectrum about Orbiter. When I do get the
beta I intend to put a quick review up here so folks know what
to expect. what I've been told it sounds like a great program.
RICK STICKLE ON 01122 TO A~
Orbiter Spectrum HoloByte is now due for release on the
15th of February. The betas will be shipped shortly. The
game is a full 512 and is fully animated plus has speech. The
animation is not wire frame. It looks like it will be an
excellent simulation.
RON WARTOW ON 01124 TO RICK STICKLE
Rick, if the game looks anything like the screen in SH's
MacWorld ad, it will be spectacular.
RICK STICKLE ON 01/24 TO RON WARTOW
Ron, the ad for Orbiter shows only one of the screens. SH
sent beta testers a two page preview of some of the screens,
and all I can say at this point is that there is more where that
came. I think Orbiter will be like no game we've seen before
on Mac or any other machine!
RICK STICKLE ON 02103 TO A~
I called SH this morning to check on the beta for Orbiter. It
looks like there will be another delay since they are having
trouble with the 3-D graphics. At this point there will
probably be a letter going out to the beta testers at the end of
the week, and they are thinking of taking ads to tell people
they are sorry for the delay.
Duneeon of Doom
JIM RHODES ON OlliS TO ~
Anyone having problems with running Dungeon of Doom
the Sigmac Disk? I followed all directions for making a DOD
disk, but I get a bomb! Maybe it doesn't run on 128K with
single drive.
JAMES UTILE ON 01120 TO .TIM RHODES
Nope, it will not fit into the 128 Mac, & the recourse is more
memory. $60 for parts for the bold (and skillful). See Dr.
Dobbs for writeup. The hitch is getting the 74F253. I'm
trying 74LS253 this week.
Gamestar Baseball
MAC NACHLAS ON 01120 TO ALL
Well there is finally a baseball game for the Mac - Cham
pionship League Baseball Gamestar distributed by Activision.
Unfortunately, this one rates about one half of a mouse.
Graphics are OK, but the game is just a converted Atari game.
No Mac interfacing here. No menus. Mouse is treated like an
inverted joystick. Limited strategy options. But worst of all,
the thing has big ugly bugs. Sometimes (usually when I'm
winning) the thing hangs up. It has something to do with
leading the runner off third base. But I haven't quite nailed it
68
down yet
Anyway the game just goes away. Nothing
happens. So I called Gamestar in California, on my nickel,
and they told me, "It's not the game. It's because the Mac has
had different ROMs, and you have the wrong one."
Unfortunately (for me), the package didn't say "some Macs" or
"Macs with certain serial numbers"; it just said Mac. I sent
my disk back to California and got a new one back (6 weeks,
4 phone calls), but it doesn't work either. If I sound P.O.ed, I
am. I suggest you do not buy this game.
"',
RON WARTOW ON 01124 TO MAC NACHLAS
Nice to see a new face on the GameSIG board One of our
"functions" is to inform the membership of gaming "no-gos".
Our December column listed this game in the "Not Recom
mended" category. Please feel free to call me on the Mac Hot
line before buying games. Several of the GameSIG members,
including myself, own Macs and have played or seen practic
ally every game. I hope your future buys are not as painful.
Flieht Simulator
RICK STICKLE ON 01/28 TO ~
Those of you who are sharp eyed may have noticed that in the
back of the new MacUser, it says that Flight Simulator is
coming for the Mac. Well, it's true. I called Sublogic and
was told that it will be released in March and marketed by
Microsoft They could not give me a price yet
@
Elec. Stock Trading contd. from pg 27
SUMMARY
Should you buy "The Equalizer" ? ....
First of all, the cost of the program should be placed into ~
perspective. If your interest in trading securities is very
occasional, e.g. selling shares of stock from an employee pur
chase plan, or buying a few shares of a Blue Chip for your
grandchildren, obviously you don't need this kind of software,
regardless of cost. On the other hand, it doesn't take a whole
lot of trading to spend hundreds of dollars a year in sales
commissions. Then, the cost of The Equalizer (and the fees)
are tax deductible, and the savings in commissions compared
to a full priced broker may more than offset these charges
(Indeed, a comparison of the charges by the various discount
brokers themselves might be worthwhile).
My general assessment is that the dabbler in stocks doesn't
need any of these services, although an occasional call via The
Source, CompuServe, or Dow Jones to retrieve stock prices
will be easier than poring through the newspaper.
For the more active trader, the automation of order
management and the maintenance of records for tax purposes,
considered in the light of the fact that Schwab (and Quick and
Reilly, for that matter) are discount brokerages, probably
justifies using either approach (The Equalizer or QuickWay).
I do wish, however, that Schwab would consider making its
on-line trading accessible to users with conventional commun
ications software. After all, two things are obvious. Schwab
is not in the software business; selling thousands of Equal
izers will not make them a profit. Therefore, the software
charge is a form of "earnest money", intended to discourage
those who aren't serious. Fine: why not just charge an initi- "
ation fee, in exchange for which the purchaser would get sys
tem access information (commands and passwords) permitting
on-line trading?
@
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
DISKET~RIA
by Jim Little
DISPATCH WAP Disks 46 - 53: French Instruction
WAP Disks 54 - 59: Spanish Instruction
The big news is a set of language programs (DOS 3.3)
from the Anne Arundel Public School system - a set of eight
French instruction disks and another set of six in Spanish.
Use of graphic screens is important to the entire series.
People and places are shown as part of the instruction. As
one example, you can play tic-tac-toe in either language. A
visual board keeps track of the progress of the game. You
must successfully answer the questions to place your mark.
Vocabulary drills, literature, interviews, and quizzes complete
the series. Documentation for each set is included on the
reverse of indicated disks. An audio tape is part of the
package, and while not a normal disketeria item, will be
issued for the price of a disk. Most of these disks com
municate with the student in the language, but not all. Some
control programs are in English, and of course all the Basic
statements are familiar standard Applesoft. Language accents
are included in the visual screens in the proper place. These
programs were professionally prepared in the school system
and have been donated to the public domain for distribution.
Our special thanks to the school system and Gary Taber,
coordinator of foreign languages.
Remember that with a set you get a $1.00 per disk
discount. Buy the package of 8 or 6 plus tape for the whole
set. The following are the French disks and titles:
Disk 46: French Vocabulary Tutorial. May be used with
the audio tape. Documentation for the series is on the reverse
side in text fIle format.
Disk 47: Tic-Tac-Toe in French. The name says it all.
For two players. Correct answers to the questions allow you
to move. Block if you can. Nice graphics on the screen.
Disk 48: Boot tor ),Hote. Required initializer for Disk 49.
Disk 49: I'Hote Story.
Disk 50: I'Hote Quiz. Didn't think that you could get
away with out a test, did you? See how much you have
learned. Try again. Neat graphics and special screens with
accents in correct places. Big smiles reward correct answers.
Disk 51: French Poetry Tutorial. More nifty graphic
screens.
Disk 52: Apollinaire Biography.
Disk 53: Albert Carnus Interview. A selection ofprepared
questions and replies from the author's works.
Now for tbe Spanish sectiog:
Disk 54: Tic-tac-toe in Spanish. Same setup as in the
French Disk 47. Documentation on reverse.
Disk 55: Ratel-boot. Required boot disk for Disk 56.
Disk 56: Ratel.
Disk 57: Rafel Quiz. Check on what you have learned.
Disk 58: Matute. Another interview, with replies to
prepared questions.
Disk 59: Lo Fatal.
Audio tape 1: French vocabulary.
Audio tape 2: Spanish vocabulary.
WAP Disk 173:
Riley's Personal Instrumentation
As promised in Tom Riley's article last month we are
Washington Apple Pi
issuing the programs to run his temperature lab. (A com
mercial equivalent for just one temperature channel costs
$99.95 + tax.) For information see Februrary 1986 WAP
Journal. This is his complete set of data and control
programs.
Disk IWAP806: ZAP
A sector editor and modifier for ProDOS. More nifty stuff
to work on the files on a disk. Works with ][+, lie and IIc's.
The + edits 256 bytes at a time. The lie or IIc with 80
column cards will work on a 512 byte block. Alter pro
tection, recover a lost file, modify, or whatever. Work on
copies, not originals, if possible. Documentation on the disk
may be viewed or printed out.
For SigMac this month we have Disk 34, plus a set of
three disks containing Modula-2 for the Macintosh. This set
will sell for $15 (see description below). Also, please note
that SigMac 31: Dungeon of DoomlEliza Talks, which was
released several months ago, requires 512K.
SigMac Disk 34: Excel Tax Templates '85
Notes by Tony Anderson: Tax time is upon us once again.
While the Mac can't change that fact of life, the combination
of this disk, Microsoft Excel, and Macintosh can make tax
time a little less taxing. The Macintosh will help you
calculate all of the major IRS forms in record time, plus let
you look at all the various ways to compute your tax to
minimize your liability. While on the subject of liability, we
of course assume none. We believe these templates to be
accurate but they are distributed "as is". The author asks that
if you like these and want to receive next year's templates,
please send him a small fee. See the Run Me First file on
this disk.
Forms on this disk; 1040, 1040-ES, 2441, 3903,
4136,4137,4562,4797,5695,6251, and W-2.
Schedules on this disk; A, B, C, D, E, F, G, R, SE, U,
and W.
Modula-2 68K for the Macintosh (3 disks)
The following notes were submitted by Dave Weikert.
(This is a 'quick and dirty' translation of portions of one
of two documents, written in German, that came along with
the compiler.)
Pre-Release 4/25/85 (This compiler is based on earlier
versions for different types of hardware written by several
people at the ETH Zuerich.The Macintosh version is being
written by Peter Fink and Franz Kroensederat the 'Institut fuer
Informatik, ETH Zuerich'.)
The three disks contain a Pre-Release of Modula-2 for the
Macintosh. The library does not yet allow access to all of the
Macintosh's ROM-Routines, but it is in a coherent and usable
state. Compiler and linker work reliably. Real numbers are
implemented and transcendental functions exist in the library.
The library contains routines that allow formatted reading and
writing from/to keyboard, screen and fIles. Elementary
graphics routines in the Macintosh ROM are accessible. You
may also use keyboard andlor mouse for input.
'Rules of the game': This compiler is provided to you on
conld.
March 1986
69
an as-is basis, i.e. we are still working on it but nevertheless
you may already use it We can't give you any further
documentation, either on our programs or on the internals of
the Macintosh (except the disk M2-00ku). The disks contain
ALL the Software that is available for the moment. We
DON'T give any further support. Don't give away the
compiler for commercial purposes, especially no selling!
(This is not a product There is no warranty for anything.
Except that the people who wrote it, did their best.
Description or the disks contents: There are the three
disks: M2-System, M2-Doku and MODLIB.
M2-Doku: This is a bootable documentation disk.
EDIT: Text Editor to read and print the text files.
Introduction : the text that you're just reading.
GUIDE.TEXT: Description of the compiler and linker
covering all options and switches. Description of the Modula
2 dialect the compiler is working with.
DEFI Folder: This Folder contains the .DEF Files of all
library routines:
Conversions: number formatting
InTerminal: input of numbers
M2Files: file I/O using characters and words
MathLibO: transcendental functions and square root
MathLib 1: more functions, pi and random numbers
OutFile: output of numbers to a file
OutTerminal: output of numbers to the user
RealTerminal: input/output of real numbers
Storage: dynamic memory management using a heap
Terminal: input/output, cursor positioning (input is also
simulating ASCII, for example Command+X=CAN, Com
mand+[=ESC)
QuickDraw: Access to the Quickdraw routines
EventMgr: event manager of the Mac, interface to mouse
and keyboard
DEF2 Folder: This Folder contains the .DEF Files of
special modules:
Clock: clock interface
Loader: loading and execution of overlays
MCLookup: filename dialog, as used in compiler & linker
Options: service module for MCLookup
PascalStrings: conversions between Macintosh and Mod
ula-2 strings
SFPackage: filename dialog (as used in MacWrite or
EXEC) MiniFinder
OSConstants: numbers of Macintosh error messages, halt
index, some bomb ID numbers
MODLIB: This disk contains all the files needed to com
pile and link, i.e. the compiler, the linker and the library.
m2comp: compiler
m2link: linker
Folders: overlays, .SYM and .LNK files
M2-System: This bootable disk contains the Editor, run
time application EXEC (Loader) and some example programs.
EXEC: runtime application to run Modula-2 programs.
You may click on a Modula-2 program (as m2comp, m2link
or • .LaD) or just on Exec. With the editor you may choose
Exec directly from the TRANSFER menu. Exec lets you
select a program from a file window. After execution of the
program you will return here. Click on CANCEL to quit and
return to the Desktop.
LISACONVERT: Application to convert textfiles from
the Lisa format
Examples: Example programs in .MOD and .LOD format.
You may delete these to make room for your progr.uns.
@
70
BOOK REVIEWS
by Robert C. Platt
Welcome back to the book review comer. Keeping up
with the latest titles is a never-ending struggle.
Apple 1/ Book for Kids
Sound and Graphics: Ap'ple U+. /Ie & IIc by Jerry and
Valerie Abad is a colorful and appealing book designed for
grades 2 to 6. (It may be more suitable for grades 4-8, but
then I'm not a kid.)
The coverage seems complete. Each chapter covers a
specific problem and is short enough for a child's attention
span. The Abads cover: color, moving graphics, 3-D
graphics, using joysticks or paddles to ftre missiles, sound,
simple Apple music, and combining graphics and sound.
Both lo-res and hi-res Applesoft programming is covered. The
book may be a bit too wordy for younger children, although
the material should be sufficiently challenging for most young
computerists. [Datamost 1984, $9.95.]
Modula-2 on the Mac
We are rapidly approaching a dozen different Modula-2
books on the market. (This is good news for the reader
because he is guaranteed to find one that will catch his fancy.
It's bad news for me as a Modula-2 book author because it
means tougher competition for market share.) Macjntosh
Graphics in Modula-2 by Russell L. Schnapp represents a
maturing of this market. It is the first Modula-2 book that
uses the language to teach something else, in this case
Quickdraw 3-D graphics and animation. Schnapp presents
material to Person's Macjntosh Game Animation, but uses
Modula-2 instead of MS-Basic and includes less theory as
background. Although the Mac's ROMs are standard, the
Modula-2 interface to access them is not, and Schnapp's book
is limited to only "MacModula-2" from Modula Corp.
Schnapp has selected several visually pleasing examples
including a line drawing of the Space Shuttle, Moire patterns,
and a poor man's MacDraw. If you have MacModula-2, this
is a must read! Recommended. [Prentice-Hall 1986, 184 pp.
index & glossary $19.95, program disk $11.951
MacBasic
My last column explained that Apple decided against
official release of MacBasic, a multi-window highly inter
active implementation of Standard BASIC. It is a different
language than MS-Basic which is available commercially, and
must be obtained through unofficial channels. One MacBasic
book which I particularly admire is Richard Norling's
Macintosh BASIC. Norling's book is well suited for the fIrst
time programmer. His interesting sample programs include
calculating the number of gallons of paint to cover a room; a
stopwatch program; an address book program; copying the
note pad file; a mini piano program and a pattern editor. The
program lists all ROM calls in an appendix and provides
complete solutions to end of chapter problems. Recom
mended. [OsbornelMcGraw Hill 1985,454 pp. $17.95.1 §
March 1986
Washington Apple Pi
WASHINGTON APPLE PI DISKETERIA MAIL ORDER FORM
Software for Creative Living
This fonn ~ for ordering disks that you want mailed to you. 5 114" DIS
ES: - Members $ 5.00 each; Non-members $ 8.00 each. Plus $1.00 each postage up to a maximum of $ 5.00. 3 112" DISKETIES: - Members $ 6.00 each; Non-members $ 9.00 each. Plus $1.00 each postage up to a maximum of $ 5.00. A $1.00 per disk discount on the above prices is offered for oders of 5 or more disks. Postage remains as above. DOS 3.3 Volumes
41 lAC 25 Mach.LanJz.UtiI.
42 One Key DOS •• ¥
43 lAC 29 -Utilities H
44 Utilities I
45 Diversi-Copy' •••
46 French Vocab. Tutorial
47 Tic-Tac-Toe in French
48 Boot for l'Hote
49 l'Hote Story
50 l'Hote Ouiz
51 French Poetry Tutorial
52 Apo11inaire Bio~phy
53 Albert Camus Iilterview
54 Tic-Tac-Toe in Spanish
55 Rafel-boot
56 Rafel
57 Rafel Quiz
58 Matute
59 Lo Fatal
Audio Tape 1: French Voc.
Audio Tape 2: Spanish Voc
70 BusinesslMalhlStatstic.
71 Music
72 Keyboard Games
73 Text Adventure Games
74 Paddle Games
75 Color Graphics for Fun
76 Education
77 Utilities
90 Spreadsheet C Gen. Bus.
91 Spreadsheet D InvestmL
92 Spreadsheet E Bus. Rec.
93 VisiPlot & VisiTrend
94 CALCULINK •••
100 Utilities A
101 Utilities B
102 Games A
104 Business A
106 Science Engineering
107 Games B
108 lAC lWGraPhiCS)
109 lAC 11 APplesoft Tutr)
110 Person Education
111 Games C
112 Utilities C
113 Business B
115 lAC 12113 Misc.
116 lAC 14 Micromodemll
117 Picture Packer
118 Utilities D
119 lAC 15 Misc.
120 lAC 16 Misc.
121 WAPABBS 1.1
122 lAC 17 Misc.
123 French Vocabulary
124 Utilities E
125 lAC 18 Misc.
126 Sights and Sounds
127 Math/Science
128 Games D
129 GLAQ
130 DiVCfSI-DOS •••
131 PersonaIJEduc. 2
132 lAC 19-Utilities F
133 lAC 20-Pascal&DOS 3.3
134 New Members Disk
Doc.··
Macintosh (SIgMac)
DOS 3.3 contd.
• @$6.00 (see above)
135 WAPABBSl.l Disk 1··
·207 The Manxome Foe
136 WAPABBSl.l Disk 2··
·208 The Gauntlet
1 MS-BASIC Pgrns
137 lAC 21 Spreadsheet A
2 Atkinson's GOOdies
·209 Caverns of Langst
138 lAC 23 Utilities G
3 Fonts
·210 Future Ouest
139 lAC 24 Education 3
·211 House ol Secrets
4 MS-BASIC Pgrns
·212 Sewers of Chicago
140 Education 4
5 Desk Accessories
·213 Slave Pits of KzOrland
141 S~ial Data Bases
6 "Mac Paintings
·214 Alternate Begin. Cave
142 lAC 28 Pinball Games
7 Desk Calendar&MS-Basic
143 Sports
*215 Lifequest
8 MacFORTH Programs
·216 Swoidquest
144 lAC 27 Applesoft Prog.
9 Not One Byte
145 Apple Logo Tool Kit
*217 Priest of Xim!
10 Mostly BASIC
146 Li>go DoCumentation
*218 Heros Castle
11 MacFonts! Recommended
147 App. Logo Samp'.Prog.
*220 Utility II
12 MacFonts as a pair.
150 EDSIGl (Elem. MaUl)
·221 Utilil}' 111
13 RAM Dis &Allid. Finder
151 1983 Tax Template
*223 Temple of the Undead
14 Filevision Templates
152 lAC 31 Miscellaneous
·224 Ouest for Holy Grail
15 Proganuner's PI!yground
153 Investments A
*225 Caves of Mondamen
16 New Members Disk 1985
154 Investments B
*226 Orb of Polaris
17 Red Rj'der 5.0 *.*
155 lAC 33 Miscellaneous
18 MusicWorks Collectn. I
ProDOS Volumes
19 Mock Accessories •••
156 lAC 35 Applsft-AWile
157 lAC 36 Arcade Games
801 Procmd (I1IE CMDR.)
20 MacPaintings II
158 Apple Logo Programs
802 Utilities (A)
21 Utilities I (ResEd)
159 Recipe Fifes
803 Filecabinet 22 Desk Tools
804 Shareware *••
160 Utilities & Games
23 Fonts 111
161 Wizard Worker
24 Telecom I
805 '85 Tax Templates-AW
162 Games E
25 Util. II (Switcher 4.4)
806 ZAP
163 Graphs and Displays
ortb Volumes 26 Am. Sign Lang. Font
164 Games F
27 Cyclan Develop. Sys.
700 Assembler/Disassemb.
165 Happy Holidays
701 Full Screen Editor
28 World Mapping PrOg.
166 Charts and Graphs
702 GoForth Tutorial
29 Fun and Games
167 lAC 40 - Pilot Lan~.
703 Fig-Forth
30 Education I
168 lAC 41&47-AW um.
704 Aoating Point Arith.
31 Dungeon of Doom!
169 Hayes Tenn. Piy..&•••• Pascal Volumes -(See also 133)
Eliza Talks
170 Love's FoJlies (Uti\.)
32 Fun and Games II
300 PIGO:ATrACH 1.1/BIOS
171 Cat-Graphix
301 PIGl:
33 Desk Accessories II 172 Print Shop Graphics
302 PIG2:
34 Excel Tax Temp. '85 173 Riley's Pers. Instru.
303 PIG3: (PIGO:, PIG2:,
Modula-2 68K - Mac 500 Master Catalog Listing
304 PIG4: PIG4:, and
Sct of 3 disks - $15 amon Series Volumes
305 PIG5: PIG 11: are 180 Dungeon Designer
306 PIG6: re-issues)
181 Begmners Cave
307 PIG7: ·182 Lair of Minotaur
308 PIG8: *183 Cave of the Mind
309 PIG9: *184 Zyphur Riverventure
310 PIGIO: *185 CaStle of Doom
311 PIGlI: ·186 Death Star
312 PIGl2: *187 Devil's Tomb
313 PIGl3:GueriIla Guide *188 Caves of Treas.Is\.
314 PIGI4: .189 Furioso
P I Volumes
*190 The Magic Kingdom
401 Master Catalog
*191 The Tomb of Molinar
402 Utilities 1
*192 Lost lsI. of Apple
403 Communications
*193 Abductor's Quarters
404 Utilities 2
·194 Ouest for Trezore
405 Utilities 3
406 ZCPR2 Install
·195 Und~und City
·196 Merlin s Castle
407 ZCPR2 Documentation
·197 Horgrath Castle
408 ZCPR2 Utilities
·198 Deathtrap
409 Modem 730
·199 The Black Death
410 Essential Utilities
·200 The Tel!1Ple of Ngurct
411 Text Editor
·201 Black Mountain
412 ~preadsheet
*202 Nuclear Nightmare
413 MDM740AB(SSC&Com)
414 MDM74OCD(7710&A-Cat)
·203 Feast of Carroll
415 Orig. 350 PL Adventure
·204 The Master's Dungeon
·205 The Crystal Mountain
·206 The Lost Adventure
J
!1
!
l
• Vol. 181 required with these disks. *. Vols. 121, 135, 136 must be purchased together.
DATE: _ _ _ _ _ __
••• Use of thiS disk requires sending money directly to the author. Note: Allow 2 to 3 weeks for mailing. Total Order = __ Disks; Postage $_ _; Total Amount Enclosed $_ _. NAME:
Make check payable and send to: (U.S. funds payable on a U.S. bank.)
ADDRESS:
Washin~ton Apple Pi, Ltd.
Attn. Dlsketeria
8227 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 201
Bethesda, MD 20814
CITY, STATE, ZIP _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Washington Apple Pi
March 1986
Telephone _ _ _ _ __
WAP Membership No. _ __
71
WAP TUTORIAL REGISTRATION The following three WAP tutorials are being offered to Apple II owners on Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 PM,
at the office, 8227 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, MD. (The tutorials start promptly at 7:30; if you bring your
computer please arrive 15 minutes early to set up.) You may sign up for any or all of the series.
They are
designed for the "beginner" and will be repeated monthly. A revised outline of the tutorials was given in th~
October 1985 issue of the WAP Journal. However, the 3rd tutorial has been changed as follows: It will introducl
AppleWorks, Apple's integrated Word Processor, Database and Spreadsheet, for use with Apple Ilc, lie and ][+ when
patched by Norwich Plus Works or similar software. An AW Data Disk will be available for use (or copying) during
the tutorial.
It contains several small (less than 10K) examples of databases and spreadsheets, in addition to
instructions in the form of an AW word processor file. The tutorial is designed to guide new AW users through the
procedures for using, adding to, and altering existing files. The particular files used will be chosen in
response to requests from registrants.
( ) March 4 - WELCOME TO T~E WORLD OF APPLE
- ( ) April 1
( ) March 11 - HOW TO USE YOUR APPLE SOFTWARE
- ( ) April 8
( ) March 18 - POPULAR APPLICATIONS FOR YOUR APPLE - ( ) April 15
The fee for each tutorial is $10.00 with an Apple, monitor and disk drive, $15.00 without (monitors available for
1st 5 registrants - call office). Please note that WAP does not have equipment for you to use; if you do not
bring your own, you will have to look over someone's shoulder.
Tutorials at $15.00 (without equipment)
Tutorials at $10.00 (with equipment)
SigMac is sponsoring a series of two monthly tutorials for the beginner. The fee for two tutorials is $30.00.
They will be held at the office, from 7-10 PM on Monday evenings. You are strongly urged to bring your Macintosh.
These tutorials fill up quickly - call the office to verify space before mailing in your registration.
) Monday, April 21 and 28
(March tutorial is full)
Please check the desired tutorials and return this form with fee(s) made payable to Washington Apple Pi, Ltd. to:
Washington Apple Pi, Ltd.
Attn. Tutorials
8227 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 201
Bethesda, MD 20814
Name
-----------------------------------------------------------
Evening Phone
------------------------------
Daytime Phone
Total Enclosed $
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
INDEX TO AUTHORS
All Hours Consultants
Anderson Jacobson •
.
Applied Computer
Chesapeake Software .
Clinton Computer Center
Computer Den Ltd.
Computer Service Center
Computer Ware Unlimited •
HLA Computers
Landmark Computer Laboratories
MacCorner •
MacTography
Operant Systems •
PC Resources
Raedata, Inc.
Tysons Corner Center
VF Associates
.
Wheaton Plaza.
...
. .. . .
..
..
72
-------
· • 3123
5
45
1
• 37
Inside Front
. • 13
. Back Cover
• 17
Inside Back
49
21
7
33
15
.2, 59
7
·
.··
Begleiter, Ralph J
Billingsley, Amy T
Blass, Mark
Block, Merle.
Brecker, Steven
Burger, James M.
Condren, J
.
Connelly, Rosemary
Coukouma, Euclid
Field, Bruce F
Granite, David
.
Hardis, Jonathan E
Hayman, Gary
Husick, Lawrence.
Johnston, Thomas
.
.
March 1986
.
46
8
32
11
39
• 60
24
51
35
16
. . 19
• 41, 64
28
38
18
Kinal, George
25, 26
22
Kuhn, Martin
40
Leffler, Brook s
65
Litman, Regina.
Little, Jim
69
48, 52
Morganstein, David
14
Ottalini, David .
Page, Chester H•
33
Platt, Robert C•
70
20
Rowell, Richard
34
Rusk, Robert V. ·Pete"
13
ThaI, Jay
Trusal, Lynn R
54, 57
Warrick, Tom.
4, 50
Wartow, Ronald
18
.
..
Washington Apple Pi
(~IID © © @ Lru OO~Lru) §§E
The Macintosh™ Only Software and Peripherals
MacBottom Meets the Mac Plus
MacBOTTOM 21 Meg Hard Disk ... $1245
TEe H N 0 LOG Y
r"'l
DATAFRAME 20

Reconditioned MB 10', are now available in very limited supply. Included i.
the latest SW & a Six month Factory Warranty!!!
Ask About our
SUPERDRIVE 20
package deals!!
Mac 3-D
$165.00
$84.95
Easy 3-D
MacDraft
$189.95
Th un d erscan $194 .95
Ready Set Go $99.95
FactFinder
$99.95
Interlace
$125.00
Excell
$269.95
Jazz
$379.95
Copy II Mac $29.95
MacSpell+
$79.95
$9.95
7.95
14.95
IronOn Color II
19.95
~~s~ i:nv:rIIlMac
$1199
The SuperDrive 20 is a high performance 3.5"
Internal 20 Meg. HyperDrive compatible drive,
upgradable to SCSI, supports HFS and will be
supported by MacServe! Up to 10 times faster
than floppies,this is the perfect internal Hard
Drive for your Mac, and at a super price!!!
~.W""1711
Prlntar Stand
Color rtbbons I
Color Ribbons II
$1099
The Dataframe 20 is the fIrst 20 Meg. SCSI drive,
stands vertically n xt to your Mac and does not
require a fan (quiet!). It takes full advantage of
the interface's speed as well as of HFS and will be
supported by MacServe! List $1295
D
MacBOTTOM 10Meg HD,R-Unlts.. . $ o59. QQ
New Product S
SUPERMAC
.
m
Includes: Baclcup SW, 4 meg printer buffer, volumizing, Faster than Apple',
IID·20, briefcase portable. The new software supports HPS & autostart from
the Mac Plus, so you can have regular & HPS volumes!! Also included is a
totally automated HPS Backup Program. The fastest serial HD fo,); the Mac.!!
Store
~! : :;
ENHANCE
Avail. March 15th
Enhance is the route of choice for upgrading your
128 or 512k Mac to a MacPlus. SuperMac gives
f M P
.
1
you a I the power 0 a ac Ius In your existing
Mac! TWO (2) megabytes of contiguous memory
upgreadable to more than SIX (6112) megs. ,& a
completely MacPlus compatible SCSI Port. Also
Madlamate III
11.95
Papar 1000
19 . 95
Pastal Paper 300 11.95
Macnlfly AB.Swllct1l4.95
MN ABCD Swllch 49.95
Epstart
36.00
MacPort Adaptor 74.95
MacEnhacar
169.95
12.5faster!!
Mhz 68000
to info!!
make
::t~==============!.":========:"J included
your Macis50%
Call coprocessor
now for more
There are too amny new products to list here.
Amongst them however are: MacMall,MacWars
MAC+II (meacom), "II In a Mac", MacPaliette,
Interlace, Easy 3D, Mac 3-0, ReadySetGo 2.1,
Bratucos,Balance Of Power,thunderscan
&
h
II
SCSI d ·
(
) M T bl
OO&<t:'J.I'&lbll
Now In
Stock:
$479 22
MIDI & Music FOR THE MAC
I~==:i~n=ew~,===a=c=a~~e~,~~~r~lv;;:e;;:s~===m:;;u::;;c~:;;m:;;o~r~e~~~;;;;;;;;;;:::;~~~~1
I,
Sony & Maxell disks (Box Of 10 3 1/2"): ~ l]
§A!l..IE
HELIX is one of the most powerful Data Bases for Macintosh.
Create simple or RELATIONAL data bases which support Fonts,
Graphics, & Custom Forms, turn key applications (menu driven,
run time, multiuser & remote modules avail. also) List $400
OO(O)I);IIE
1J1Jil&.00
§[PIECIIAl1~
ZORK III 49.95
SUSPECT
49.95
CUTIHROATS 39.95
SORCERER
44.95
SEA STALKER 39.95
Murderby the Dozen 34.95
:R@@
oo&'c
{)IlI);l(O){DIlDCll'@ 000
15.00
15.00
15.00
15.00
15.00
15.00
~lI'(o)cOCiii
GREAT SPECIALS THROUGHOUT THE STORE!!
1.27
r
(301) 330-9116
$ 595.00
$ 475.00
$49 · >$69
$79·>$195
Call
Call
®®~L-----r;~;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;~~=~
PRO MODEM 1200 FOR MAC: $ 379.95 also .. . POPCOM 1200 & STRAIGHT TALK:$ 319.70 $149.95
800 K Disk Drives $289
Numeric turbo $129.95
MacTablet $339
Q
Prof. Composer & Performer Combo
Total Music (Sequencer & Scoring)
Opcode Ubrarians & patch Editors
Opcode & Assimilation MIDlintarfaces
E.Arts Deluxe Music Contruction Set
MusicWorks Midi
VA call:
(301) 340·7032
We are at the Comer of Zetts Av. & Shady Grove Rd. ,Gaithersburg. One
bloclc from the intersection of Shady grove & Rt 355 (Roclcville Pilee)
Image Writter
Ribbons $4.95ea
box of 6 $3.95 ea
AppleTalk Drives ""'\
Sale:Corvus-Micro
Design Keeper.
WASHINGTON APPLE PI, LTD.
8227 Woodmont Avenues Suite 201
Bethesda , MD 20814
BUL K RATE
U
S POSTAGE
P A I 0
PERMIT I 5389
Silver Spring, MD
FORWARDING AND ADDl:{ESS C;ORKECTION REQUESTED
20910
Weve got an'Apple for ~very app~tite. \\e\'e lxu-ed d( )\\11 tlll~ pnce ()f Apples. _ _
) = .~ 25% OFF ALL / ~ \ ~ SYSTEMS!!! MacIntosh Plus In Stock
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